
Beservs Steratf-. 




Glass. 
Book- 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 




TWO COPIES RECEIVED 






Copyrighted in the year t^g-j 

by ;;> 

Mary E. Mixer 



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)ate§5m«Mtesv 



Printed and bound in the year 1897 
by The Peter Paul Book Company, 
in Buffalo, New York. 



TO THE 

dlriltlrEn nf Trinitg ^nxish 

THE FUTURE WARDENS AND 
VESTRYMEN OF THE 
CHURCH, , 
HEIRS TO A NOBLE INHERITANCE, 
THIS BOOK IS DEDI- 
CATED 



Editor's Note 

The designs of the cover and title-page were drawn 
by Miss Elise Devereux, artist. 

In the arduous Av^ork of compiling and printing the 
history, several errors were unfortunately overlooked 
until too late to correct them. 

On page 36, the name of Mr. Corneille R. Ganson is 
wrongly given as " Cornelius R. Ganson." 

On page 41, Doctor and Mrs. Thomas F, Rochester 
are referred to as coming from Geneva, which was the 
early home of Mrs. Rochester. They removed to Buffalo 
from Rochester, which city was named for the doctor's 
family. 

On page 103, "Mr. Horatio H. Seymour" should be 
"Mr. Henry H. Seymour"; and on page 107, "Mrs. 
Horatio H. Seymour" should be "Mr. Henry H. Sey- 
mour." 



Preface 

IN the experience of all large cities it is found that old 
landmarks, prominent citizens, and important events 
are apt to be passed over in the progress of time, 
their places filled, their monuments razed to the ground 
to make way for those of a new generation. 

The important part played in the prosperity and 
growth of such cities by the early builders thereof is 
seldom remembered by those who tread the paths made 
easy for them and live in happiness and peace beneath 
the spreading branches of trees whose shade measures 
the passing of one or two generations. 

As a rule, the pioneers of all such settlements are 
men of mark, sometimes of wealth and position; and 
their opinions, their laws and customs, insensibly influ- 
ence their successors for all time. Observe in New York 
city, Albany, and other portions of our state, how the 
Knickerbocker presence of early days is still felt in the 
land; how in Detroit, Michigan, social customs, local 
laws, and the very manners of the citizens bespeak their 
French origin. So we might go on, from section to sec- 
tion of our great country, tracing by their present cus- 
toms and laws the influences that laid the foundations 
of their cities and of their forms of government; and 
Buffalo, though not the most important of our cities, 
can boast an honorable heritage, for her first citizens 
were men of brains and men of mark. 

In 1679 Father Hennepin and his small band of 
explorers, under the leadership of La Salle, with much 



vi Preface 

labor carried the material for a small vessel over the port- 
age at Niagara River, and climbed the heights of Lewis- 
ton. They toiled slowly on their way over snowy plains 
and through gloomy forests, till they came at last to a 
small stream which entered the Niagara two leagues 
above the cataract — undoubtedly Cayuga Creek. There 
they built the vessel for which they had brought the 
materials, and launched the "Griffin" in the spring, 
under many difficulties, caused by the rapids in the 
river. At length the small vessel of sixty tons, armed 
with seven guns, all of which had been transported by 
land around the cataract, sailed away on our great inland 
sea, to the singing of the Te Deum and the roaring of 
cannon. It bore as a part of its crew the intrepid La 
Salle, a blue-eyed, ringleted cavalier, fitted to grace the 
salons of Paris, yet eagerly pressing forward to dare the 
hardships of unknown seas and savage lands. 

Tonti, exiled from his native Italy by revolution, the 
second in command, was a man of unswerving courage 
and devoted loyalty. Father Hennepin, the early histo- 
rian of this region, was one of the most zealous of all 
that band of Roman priests who bore the cross to the 
fiercest pagans of the New World, and laid down their 
lives with the martyr's courage in the dense primeval 
forests. 

Have not these men left their mark on our border- 
land ? And are not our hearts still thrilled by the stories 
of their faith and courage ? 

Then, as years went on, and the dispute of French 
and English for supremacy resulted in the Battle of 
Niagara, the site of old Fort Porter and its vis-a-vis, 
Fort Erie, became the battlefield of the two nations. 



Preface vii 

Grand and Navy islands were in the midst of the fray. 
An arm of the river separating Buckhorn Island from 
Grand Island still bears the name of " Burnt Ship Bay." 

To come down to modern times : the old ferry at 
Black Rock was quite a noted point in 1814. It was 
first chosen as the most favorable site for the settlement. 
A great salt exchange was established there, at which 
traders from even as far as Pittsburg assembled. Fort 
Erie, on the opposite side of the river, whose foundations 
were laid in 1 791, is described by the Duke of Liancourt 
in 1795 as a very rude collection of buildings. 

In 1800 Augustus Porter, of Canandaigua, had a 
contract for carrying the mail to Niagara. Doctor 
Dwight, then president of Yale College, mentions this 
ferry in his " Journey through the State of New York." 
In the same summer Gouverneur Morris passed that 
way. In 18 14 came the famous struggle at Fort Erie, 
where generals Brown and Porter covered themselves 
with glory. Colonel William A. Bird's house and 
grounds then, as now, commanded a full view of the 
battlefield. Mr. Thomas C. Love, then a student at law, 
was wounded in that engagement, and was transferred to 
Quebec, where for six months he was held as a prisoner 
of war, suffering very great privations. The kindly min- 
istrations of a young married couple resident in Quebec 
greatly alleviated his hardships, and won his lifelong 
gratitude. Years after, this couple came from Canada to 
take up their residence in Buffalo, and succeeding gen- 
erations will revere the memory of Jesse Ketchum and 
his wife. 

This hurried glimpse into the past is only given to 
claim the point that the past history of Buffalo is worth 



viii Preface 

knowing ; that in war, in civil life, in government annals, 
in church history, we can cite great names as our herit- 
age. 

A noble building, occupying the central block of our 
city, perpetuates the name of the man* who laid out 
the primitive town, and whose brother was one of the 
engineers who surveyed the city of Washington. 

Not to delve too deep into history, we can point to 
the beautiful church opposite as the pioneer church of 
the city, of which Mr. Samuel M. Welch, in his most 
admirable book, " Recollections of Buffalo," says, " What 
old or young citizen, who is imbued with sufficient sen- 
timent to have gathered an affection for inanimate things, 
does not look on this particular church as an alma mater 
in things spiritual for the entire community?" 

Dear Doctor Shelton ! the brave pioneer of the church 
in western New York, the noble champion of the truth 
of her doctrines, and in his life and practice a glorious 
example of the fruit of her teachings ! The brusque 
honesty of his manner was tempered by the tenderness 
of his sympathy; and when our dear Bishop Coxe chose 
as the text of his memorial sermon, " Behold now, there 
is in this city a man of God, and he is an honorable 
man " (I. Samuel 9 : 6), he simply repeated what had 
been the sentiment of the citizens of Buffalo generally 
with reference to the revered rector of Saint Paul's. 

How proudly can we recall the eloquence of the 
many different clergymen who have filled with honor the 
pulpits of our churches ! How honored are we to 
enroll as citizens of Buffalo names which have echoed 
round the world as rulers of our country, as jurists of 



'Joseph Ellicott. 



Preface ix 

unquestionable repute, as physicians whose very names 
give authority to anything they have said or written ! 
Therefore it is that the children of this generation should 
not be ignorant of their honorable past; that, as the 
landmarks pass away, the spots whereon they stood may 
still be held sacred, and the memory kept green of those 
whose names are indissolubly linked with them. 

To keep this heritage in mind, to recall to the next 
generation many facts which they may not otherwise 
remember, is the object of our present writing. We wish 
to impress on the minds of the younger members of 
Trinity Church the recollection of the bishops, rectors, 
and vestries, whose names have made memorable its 
records and whose very presence in its pulpits and pews 
has been a precious benison, who have bestowed dignity 
and honor on its name, who are linked in all the various 
walks and professions of life with the greatness, growth, 
and prosperity of our city. 

The editor wishes to acknowledge her indebtedness 
to Onr Church Work for a large portion of the article on 
Bishop Coxe. Extracts from many other sources have 
been made use of in compiling the work, but it did not 
seem possible to make an acknowledgment in each case. 



Contents 

PAGE 

Preface v 

List of Illustrations, xiii 

Saint Paul's Cathedral — the Mother 

OF Trinity Parish, . . Compiled i 

The Beginning of Trinity Church, 

Anna Maude Hoxsie 3 

Bishop De Lancey, Mrs. Charles B. Wheeler 15 

Reverend Edward Ingersoll, . Compiled 21 

Bishop Coxe, .... Compiled 5 1 

Consolidation of Christ Church with 

Trinity, . . . Mrs. A. P. Nichols 65 

Reverend Libertus Van Bokkelen, Compiled 69 

An Easter Day Service, " Buffalo Courier " 83 

Reverend Francis Lobdell, 

Anniversary Sermon Zj 

Bishop Walker, . " Our Church Work " loi 

Trinity Cooperative Relief Society, 

Emily Sibley Ganson 103 

Wardens and Vestrymen, 115 

Memorial Gifts, 125 



1 



Illustrations 






New Trinity, 


. frontispiece 


William Shelton, .... 


facing page i 


Cicero Stephens Hawks, 




3 


William Heathcote De Lancey, 




15 


Edward Ingersoll, 1844, 




' 21 


Edward Ingersoll, 1875,. 




45 


Arthur Cleveland Coxe, 1866, 




51 


Arthur Cleveland Coxe, 1888, 




55 


Christ Church, as originally designed, 




65 


Libertus Van Bokkelen, . 




69 


Old Trinity 




83 


Francis Lobdell, .... 




87 


William D. Walker, 




' lOI 



! 



History of Trinity Church 




William Shelton 



History of Trinity Church 



Saint Paul's Cathedral — the Mother 
of Trinity Parish 

THE organization of Saint Paul's Parish took place 
at the house of Elias Ransom, in the then village 
of Buffalo, February loth, 1817. The Reverend 
Samuel Johnston, a missionary of the church for all the 
country west of the Genesee River, officiated on this occa- 
sion. The certificate of incorporation was signed by him, 
and by George Badger and Jacob A. Barker. Messrs. 
Erastus Granger and Isaac Q. Leake were the first war- 
dens; and Messrs. Samuel Tupper, Sheldon Thompson, 
Elias Ransom, John G. Camp, Henry M. Campbell, John 
S. Lamed, Jonas Harrison, and Doctor Josiah Trow- 
bridge were the first vestrymen. The first settled mis- 
sionary pastor of the parish was the Reverend William 
A. Clark, in 18 19 and 1820. He was succeeded by the 
Reverend Deodatus Babcock, from 1820 to 1824, and 
the Reverend Addison Searle, from 1824 to 1828. The 
Reverend William Shelton preached his first sermon in 
the church on September 13th, 1829. He was the first 
rector of the parish who received no support from the 
missionary fund, and faithfully served Saint Paul's for 
more than fifty years. 



2 History of Trinity Church 

Under his auspices the present stone edifice was 
erected on the site of the old one in 185 1. Such is the 
beauty of the design that, seen from any point which 
shows an entrance, the part presented to view appears to 
be the front. The greatest length of the edifice is one 
hundred and seventy-five feet, and the greatest width 
ninety-four feet. The chancel is twenty-eight feet deep 
and twenty-eight feet wide. The stone tower and spire 
at the junction of Pearl and Erie streets have a total 
height of two hundred and seventy-two feet, the spire 
cross being raised very nearly as high as that of Trinity 
Church, New York. The structure has been justly 
called "Upjohn's masterpiece," and is considered one of 
the finest specimens of Gothic architecture in the United 
States, the tower being specially remarkable for its grace 
and symmetry. The whole work may be justly consid- 
ered a fitting monument to the untiring perseverance, 
zeal, and industry of the Reverend Doctor Shelton, who 
witnessed the laying of the first foundation stone, the 
laying of the last stone on the tall spire, and the erection 
of the gilded cross thereon. 



Note.— This description is taken from an old newspaper published before the 
fire which destroyed a large portion of the church. Many improvements in the 
interior were made in the repairing ; but the exterior, with the exception of the 
chancel, remains the same. — Editor. 




Cicero Stephens Hawks 



The Beginning of Trinity Church 

EARLY in the history of Buffalo we find mention 
of Saint Paul's, the first Episcopal church in the 
city; and shortly afterwards we hear of its off- 
shoots. The seating capacity of the parent church grad- 
ually became inadequate to its increasing congregation, 
and consequently a number of families withdrew to form 
a new parish. The first movement in regard to its es- 
tablishment was made in Saint Paul's, on Wednesday, 
October 12th, 1836, when a meeting of prominent men 
was held, with Mr. George B. Webster in the chair. The 
new organization was named Trinity Church, and had 
for its first wardens Captain Samuel L. Russell, U. S. A., 
killed in the Seminole War, and Henry Daw, who re- 
mained warden until his death in 1864. The vestry was 
composed of E. H. Cressey, Doctor Charles Winne, 
David L. Hempsted, Robert Hollister, Joseph Stringham, 
Ambrose S. Sterling, Jesse Peterson, and F. H. Harris. 
The seal of Trinity Church, bearing the date of its or- 
ganization, had for its motto the word " Onward." 

In January, 1837, the Reverend Cicero Stephens 
Hawks, of Ulster, New York, was invited to become 
rector; and in February he assumed his duties. His 
first sermon in Buffalo is still remembered as being a 
brilliant intellectual and oratorical effort. It was preached 
in Saint Paul's, and the text was, " Render therefore unto 
Caesar the things which are Caesar's ; and unto God the 
things that are God's." 



4 History of Trinity Church 

From April, 1837, to September, 1839, the congrega- 
tion of Trinity Church worshiped in the auditorium of 
the abandoned theater, known as Duffy's, or the " Buf- 
falo Theater," on South Division Street, at the southwest 
corner of Washington Street. The musical portion of 
the service at this time was furnished by a piano and 
congregational singing, virtually under the direction of 
Mr. Rushmore Poole, who had always been interested in 
music. On June 30th, 1837, a new piano was purchased, 
and the sum of fifty dollars per year was appropriated to 
pay a pianist. The first regular music committee entered 
upon its duties in May, 1838, and consisted of Mr. Sam- 
uel K. Kip and Mr. Poole. It was about this time that Mr. 
Jerry Radcliffe was elected warden, and he continued in 
office until his death in 1856. A little later Mr. Poole 
was elected vestryman, retaining this office more than 
seventeen years. He had charge of the church finances 
generally, and especially of the collecting of pew rents. 
While still worshiping in the old theater, a handsomely 
bound Bible was presented to the church for use in the 
services, by Mr. Oliver G. Steele, a most generous and 
liberal-minded gentleman, who, though not a member of 
the church, took this means of showing his desire to 
encourage the progress of the new organization. This 
Bible was in use for many years, probably up to the time 
of the removal to the new church on Delaware Avenue. 

Mr. Hawks had become a beloved as well as valued 
rector, while Mrs. Hawks, who was spoken of by her 
husband as a " delicate flower," entered as much into the 
work of the parish as ill health would permit. Mr. 
Hawks was a man of scholarly attainments, social attrac- 
tions, and distinguished personality. He was born at 



The Beginning of Triidty Church 5 

Newbern, North Carolina, May 26th, 18 12, and was 
educated at Chapel Hill. Report credited him with 
being a direct descendant of the Indian princess Poca- 
hontas. He certainly had a strong Indian face, in which 
mingled with the aboriginal blood all the kindliness and 
refinement that education and good breeding could give. 
He was of medium stature, and slender in early life, and 
was particularly neat in dress and personal appearance. 
He preached at all times without notes, and in the pulpit 
was unsurpassed in eloquence. He was a faithful rector 
and a Christian gentleman. 

In September, 1839, the congregation of Trinity 
Church moved into the Universalist Church on Wash- 
ington Street, between South Division and Swan streets. 
This was a frame building with steeple and spire; and 
its own congregation, being small and poor, was glad to 
lease it to Trinity. Within this church was one of the 
old-fashioned high box pulpits, with a double diverging 
stairway curving round and half enclosing the platform 
beneath. On the center panel of the pulpit, which was 
painted blue and sanded, was inscribed in gold letters, 
" God is Love." 

The music committee consisted of the same gentle- 
men who had served the year before. Miss Louisa 
Huber, a young German musician, was engaged as 
pianist, and Grandison B. Shelton as leader of the choir. 
Mrs. Shelton sang soprano. While services were held in 
the Universalist church, a society was formed, known as 
"The Musical Association of Trinity Church," under 
the same committee, pianist, and director; but musical 
affairs received little attention at this time, owing to the 
absorbing efforts to raise money for a church building. 



6 History of Trinity CImrcJi 

The idea of building a permanent abiding place for 
Trinity Church had been early agitated. An old paper 
has been found, dated May loth, 1838, containing a list 
of the subscribers to the building fund, as follows: 

The undersigned agree to pay to Trinity Parish, Buffalo, the 
sum opposite to their respective names upon the following condi- 
tions : 

ist. Any individual subscribing any sum shall pay twenty per 
cent, in Cash at the time of subscription, and the balance in notes of 
Five, Ten, Fifteen, and Twenty months from the first day of July 
next, with endorsements satisfactory to the Vestry. 

2d. These sums subscribed shall not be expended for any 
other purpose, but held sacred for the purpose of buying a suitable 
site for a Church Building, and placing such building thereon. 

3d. These sums shall not be considered as given save when it 
is otherwise ordered by the subscriber, but as money loaned and to 
be refunded in Pews, in such manner, and under such restrictions, 
and subject to the payment of such rents and charges, as the War- 
dens and Vestrymen of said Church may direct, whenever the 
Church Building is completed. 

Provided always and in every case, that no Individual shall 
receive from the Church a Deed for his Pew until the whole amoimt 
of his subscription has been paid. 

List of Subscribers 

Jerry RadclifTe, I500 

Cyrus Athearn, 500 

R. Nelson Haydon, 250 

Elisha Kimberly 250 

Rushmore Poole 250 

Dyre Tillinghast, 400 

Robert HoUister, 600 

Russell H. Heywood, 300 

James A. Cowing, 300 

Henry Root and Peter Curtis 225 

Augustus Kimball, 225 



The Beginning of Trinity CJmrch 7 

Hiram P. Thayer, 250 

Simeon Fox 400 

Rufus C. Palmer 300 

Morgan K. Faulkner, 300 

Luman R. Plimpton, 300 

William L. G. Smith 300 

James DeLong, 300 

Isaac W. Colie 200 

Henry W. Rogers, 200 

Lester Brace, 250 

Sheldon Thompson, 250 

George \V. Clinton, 250 

Henry M. Kinne, 250 

Philo Durfee, 250 

Nehemiah Case 250 

Of these names that of Mr. D)'re TilHnghast has 
been brought to our especial notice by the fact that a 
daughter of Dyre and Maria TilHnghast is a member of 
our present congregation, nho was baptized by the 
Reverend Mr. Hawks. Mr. and Mrs. TilHnghast were 
original members of Saint Paul's parish, and Mr. TilHng- 
hast wrote the first letter calling Doctor Shelton to Saint 
Paul's. Doctor Shelton, however, came a year later, on 
receiving a second call. They joined the new parish as 
soon as it was formed, and were valuable and interested 
members of Trinity congregation. 

Whether there is another person among our present 
members who has the same record, we have not heard. 
Doubtless there are many descendants of those baptized 
by our first rector, but it has not seemed possible to 
ascertain the facts regarding them. 

Mrs. Katherine TilHnghast Buell was the seventy- 
seventh person baptized in old Trinity by the Reverend 
Doctor Hawks. 



8 History of Trinity Church 

As will be noticed, some of these subscribers did not 
belong to Trinity Parish, but wished to assist the new 
and struggling church. 

It was a struggle indeed, and many disappointments 
delayed the accomplishment of the cherished project. 
Just as the subscription list was completed a financial 
depression was felt in all business circles, and many of 
the subscribers were obliged to withdraw their names. 
The site on the southeast corner of Mohawk and Wash- 
ington streets was secured, however, for ;$4,75o; plans 
were drawn and the foundation was begun. 

The lease of the Universalist church expired in May, 
1840, and a communication from the president of the 
Board of Trustees informed the vestry of Trinity Church 
that the " Trustees of the First Church and Society of 
Universal Restorationists in the Town of Buffalo," were 
willing to extend the lease to May ist, 1841, for the sum 
of $AfOO. It was probably, therefore, in the spring of 
1 84 1 that the church obtained temporary quarters in the 
rooms of the Young Men's Association, on the second 
floor of a building on the north side of South Division 
Street, between Main and Washington streets; and it 
was from this building that the church finally moved into 
its own place of worship. 

Mr. Hawks was very energetic in urging the comple- 
tion of the church building, the work of which was 
carried on intermittently. He frequently sacrificed his 
limited salary to hasten it, and eked out his living by 
writing books for publication, particularly Sunday school 
books, which he prepared with great ease. The music 
of the church at this time was rendered by Miss Louise 
Clark, soprano, Miss Jane Fitch, alto, Mr. Frank Pease, 



I 



TJie Beginning of Trinity Church 9 

tenor, and Mr. Rushmore Poole, with Miss Ruber's ac- 
companiment. 

The new church edifice was finally completed, al- 
though, on account of restricted means, the original 
design was given up, and a simpler one substituted. We 
find, in an unpublished article by Mr. Deshler Welch, 
that Messrs. James J. Culbertson and James D. Berry 
were the contractors, and that it was estimated that the 
building with the intended tower would cost ^20,000. 
The structure as finally erected was classical in design, 
without tower or spire. The front entrance was never 
properly finished, and should have had a Doric portico, 
the foundations for the columns having been prepared 
and left unused. The interior had no chancel, the back 
wall being painted to represent a draped window outside 
of which clambered the semblance of creeping vines. 
The pulpit was of the usual high style. When the 
organ — the source of so much excitement and pleasant 
anticipation — was placed in the gallery, the joy of the 
congregation was unbounded. The noble instrument 
had been ordered by Mr. Poole according to instructions, 
and was shipped from New York via the New York & 
Buffalo Lake Boat Line, November 9th, 1842. It was 
made by Firth & Hall, of New York, under the personal 
supervision of their foreman, Mr. Robjohn, who with an 
assistant came from New York to put it in place. It was 
the first organ, made by this firm, to be sent Avest of 
Albany. In Mr. Welch's article the organ case is de- 
scribed as ten feet wide, six feet nine inches deep, and 
fourteen and a half feet high. It contained five hundred 
and twenty-five pipes, and was in all respects a most 
creditable piece of work. 



I o Histoiy of Trinity Church 

The congregation moved into the new building the 
latter part of December, 1842; and in January, 1843, 
Mr. Poole reported the organ as ready for use. Mr. 
Robert Hollister was added to the music committee; Mr. 
William R. Coppock was engaged as organist; and an ap- 
propriation of twenty-five dollars was made for vocal music 
for the coming Easter, and a like amount was set aside 
for the purchase of music books and the services of a 
" blower boy." Miss Clark, afterwards Mrs. Ambrose S. 
Sterling, still sang soprano, and the tenor was Ebenezer 
B. Pewtress, who had an exquisite voice, and had already 
been a member of the choir for some months. Thus early 
in its history Trinity was noted for its good music. 

The church was formally consecrated by Bishop 
De Lancey, January 19th, 1843. The original sentence 
of consecration reads as follows : 

Whereas the Rector, Church Wardens, and Vestrymen of 
Trinity Church, in the City of Buffalo, County of Erie, State of 
New York, and Diocese of Western New York, have, by an instru- 
ment this day presented to me, appropriated and given a house of 
worship erected by them in said City of Buffalo to the worship and 
service of Almighty God according to the ministry, doctrines, lit- 
urgy, rites, and usages of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the 
United States of America ; have placed the same under my spiritual 
jurisdiction and that of my successors in office ; and have requested 
me to consecrate it by the name of Trinity Church : 

Now, therefore, be it known that I, William Heathcote De- 
Lancey, Bishop of the Diocese of Western New York, having taken 
the said house of worship under my spiritual jurisdiction, and that 
of my successors in office, did, on this nineteenth day of January, in 
the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-three, 
under the protection of Almighty God and in the presence of divers 
of the clergy and of a public congregation there assembled, conse- 
crate the same to the worship and service of Almighty God, the 
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, by the name of Trinity Church. 



The Beginning of Trinity CJmrch 1 1 

And I do by these presents declare the said Trinity Church to 
be consecrated accordingly, and thereby separated thenceforth 
from all unhallowed, worldly, and common uses, and set apart and 
dedicated to the service of Almighty God, for reading and preaching 
His Holy Word, for celebrating His Holy Sacraments, for offering 
to His glorious Majesty the sacrifices of prayer, thanksgiving, and 
praise, for blessing the people in His name, and for the perform- 
ance of all other holy offices according to the terms of His Covenant 
of grace and mercy in His Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, 
and according to the ministry', doctrines, liturgy, and usages of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. 

In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto affixed my hand and 
seal, in the City of Buffalo, the day and year above written, and the 
fourth year of my consecration. 

Signed, 

WILLIAM HEATHCOTE De LANCEY, 

Bishop of the Diocese of Western New York. 
[seal] 

Although Trinity Parish was now finally settled in a 
home of its own, its financial hardships were not all 
over, and the Ladies' Aid Society determined to raise 
the money for the first payment on the organ by holding 
a fair. This society was accustomed to meet periodically 
at the houses of the different members to do plain and 
fancy sewing. Early on the day of meeting, a clothes- 
basket would arrive, filled with aprons and other articles 
already cut out and ready for sewing. Among the 
ladies prominent in the society were Mrs. Thomas Per- 
kins, Mrs. Cyrenius C. Bristol, Mrs. Gibson T. Williams, 
Mrs. Rushmore Poole, Mrs. Robert HoUister, Mrs. Cyrus 
Athearn, Mrs. Charles Winne, Mrs. Hawks, Mrs. Am- 
brose S. Sterling, Miss Mary Radcliffe (afterwards Mrs. 
William Laverack), Miss Howard (afterwards Mrs. John 
M, Hutchinson), and Miss Irish (afterwards Mrs. James 



1 2 History of Trinity Church 

McCredie, junior). Mrs. Hollister and Mrs. Winne were 
experts in practical and fine needlework, and Mrs. Ath- 
earn did all the fancy work and embroidery for the fair. 
While the society worked, and the delicate and beautiful 
white satin handkerchief cases were fashioned (several of 
which are still in existence), Mrs. Hawks read to the 
ladies, and helped to while the hours away. 

The fair was held in the autumn of 1843 i^^ ^^i- old 
United States Bank building, at the northeast corner of 
Main and South Division streets, and netted the sum of 
nine hundred dollars, which was used for the first pay- 
ment on the organ. At the fair was exhibited a model of 
the church building as originally designed, the work of 
Mr. Frank Pease. 

At Easter, 1843, Mr. Coppock was reengaged as 
organist, and an appropriation of one hundred dollars 
was made for vocal music for the year. Mr. Hawks 
kept up his reputation as a scholar of distinguished 
abilit}'-, and his first sermon was remembered with so 
much pleasure that he was requested to repeat it. An- 
other sermon spoken of as being particularly able was 
on the subject of the last days and death of Moses. Mr. 
and Mrs. Hawks lived on Mohawk Street, and also 
boarded for a time on Eagle Street, and frequently dis- 
pensed informal and charming hospitality. 

As an illustration of the early date of this history, it 
may perhaps be permitted to give an anecdote of the 
time. Mrs. Hawks said to a friend and neighbor, one of 
the early aristocrats of Buffalo, " Do you think I might 
venture to wear a white rose on my bonnet?" "Of 
course, my dear, put it on ; you are young and pretty, 
and it is the time for roses." After the rose appeared in 



The Beginning of Trinity Church 1 3 

church Mrs. Hawks received several anonymous notes, 
of which history does not give the purport. But we can 
imagine it might have been in the words of a modern 
novelist: "We stick by the ways of the Discipline and 
the ways of our fathers in Israel. No newfangled notions 
down here. Your wife 'd better take them flowers out of 
her bunnit afore next Sunday." 

As is generally known, Mr. Hawks subsequently 
became bishop of Missouri, and his congregation sus- 
tained a great loss when he left Trinity Church. He 
thus expressed his own sorrow at leaving, in a letter to 
the wardens and vestrymen, dated October 28th, 1843: 

Gentlemen : 

Herewith I present to you my resignation of the rectorship ot 
Trinity Church, — said resignation to take effect on the first day of 
December. 

God knows with what sorrow, after mature deliberation, I do 
this — nor could it be done but from constraining thoughts of duty. 
I have been too intimately associated with your parish from its com- 
mencement, not to feel more than ordinary pain and anxiety as I 
take this step. But another field of labor presents itself before me, 
and the call to that field is for many reasons almost imperious with 
me. I consider that I have no right to turn aside from it. 

At such a moment the recollection of past struggles and past 
kindnesses swell upon my heart, and I can say nothing. I ask 
your prayers wherever I may be (for no man knows what trials may 
be before me), and in return I shall never cease to pray that God's 
blessing may be upon your parish and upon each of you individ- 
ually. May God's grace rest upon you all, through Jesus Christ, our 
Lord. 

Yours in all Truth, 

C. S. HAWKS. 

With the resignation of Mr. Hawks, we reach the 
close of the first epoch in the history of Trinity Church. 
It is interesting to follow it step by step through its or- 



14 History of Trinity Church 

ganization, early struggles, and final success in establish- 
ing a permanent home for itself. The personality of its 
congregation furnishes no less interesting reminiscences; 
but as that period has passed away almost into oblivion, 
leaving shadows of bygone regret in the minds of those 
who still remember, so, too, it saddens us to realize that 
of the well-known names and prominent supporters of 
old Trinity only a few are remaining today. It is with 
heartfelt and sympathetic pleasure that the above recol- 
lections and account of early Trinity Parish have been 
put into form by the granddaughter of two of the most 
earnest workers in the old church. 



i 




William Heathcote De Lancey 



^WI9mmmm^-'' 



Bishop De Lancey 



FIFTY-NINE years ago Western New York gave to 
the Episcopal Church in the United States the 
first example of a new see erected fi"om an older 
one. The first bishop of the new diocese was William 
Heathcote De Lancey, D.D., LL.D, D. C. L. (Oxon.), the 
descendant of an ancient Huguenot family, who was born 
at Mamaroneck, Westchester County, October 8th, 1797. 

He was graduated at Yale College in 18 17, and, after 
studying theology with Bishop Hobart, became in 1822 
the personal assistant of the venerable Bishop White, of 
Philadelphia, in the three churches — Saint Peter's, Saint 
James's, and Christ Church — of which that prelate was 
the rector. In the succeeding year he was elected one of 
the regular assistant ministers of those churches. 

Upon the reorganization of the University of Penn- 
sylvania in 1828, he was chosen provost of that institution, 
and thereupon resigned his pastoral charge. He re- 
mained provost for five years, and then resumed the 
office of assistant minister of Saint Peter's Church, Phil- 
adelphia. He traveled in Europe in 1835, and on his 
return, after the death of Bishop White, succeeded to the 
rectorship of Saint Peter's. 

In 1838 the diocese of New York, comprising the 
whole state, was divided, the eastern portion retaining 
the old name; and at the primary convention of the new 
diocese, held in Geneva, Doctor De Lancey was chosen 
its first bishop. 



1 6 History of Trinity Church 

He was consecrated May 9th, 1839, at Saint Peter's 
Church, Auburn, and then removed to Geneva, the seat 
of the diocesan college, now called Hobart College. To 
his efficient efforts it was chiefly indebted for its support. 

He very soon instituted a system of diocesan missions 
by which a corps of laborers, unusually large in propor- 
tion to the wealth and population of the diocese, were 
sustained without incurring debt. 

In 1840, by his recommendation, a fund for the relief 
of infirm and aged clergy of the diocese was established, 
which, besides accomplishing its object, became a perma- 
nent fund of about ten thousand dollars. 

In 1852 Bishop De Lancey, with the bishop of 
Michigan, visited England as a delegation from the bish- 
ops of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United 
States to the venerable " Society for the Propagation of 
the Gospel in Foreign Parts." The delegation was 
received everywhere with the highest consideration and 
respect. During this visit, on the twenty-third of June, 
he received, together with his coadjutor. Bishop McCos- 
kry, and the late Bishop Wainwright, then a presbyter, 
the honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Law from the 
University of Oxford. 

Bishop De Lancey continued in the active adminis- 
tration of his diocese until the spring of 1864, when he 
was obliged to yield to the encroachments of a mortal 
disease. At the annual convention of his diocese, August 
17th, the last one over which he was ever to preside, he 
asked for the election of an assistant bishop who should 
also be his successor. The request was complied with, 
and the Reverend Arthur Cleveland Coxe, D. D., was 
duly chosen for the office. The consecration of Bishop 



Bishop De Lancey 17 

Coxe in Trinity Church, Geneva, on the fourth of Jan- 
uary', 1865, was the last public official act of Bishop 
De Lancey. He died in the peace of God on the fifth 
day of the ensuing April. 

During the twent>'--five years of his episcopate he 
ordained one hundred and forty-five deacons and one 
hundred and sixty priests, consecrated one hundred 
church edifices, and admitted to the communion of the 
church by the rite of confirmation twenty thousand and 
forty-eight persons. 

We append to this bare outline of the life of our first 
bishop a few paragraphs from tributes of respect written 
at the time of his death, which speak of the character 
and tell of the esteem felt by all who knew " the great 
De Lancey," as Bishop Doane calls him in the recent 
commemorative sermon of our late beloved Bishop Coxe. 

From the tribute paid by the clergy of his diocese we 
quote the following: 



In Bishop De Lancey we have beheld a most symmetrical and 
harmonious character, gifts of a high order, good learning, sound- 
ness of faith, purity of life, earnestness of purpose, ardent affections, 
an unbending will always set to do the right whether men applauded 
or censured, a conscience active to every call of duty, whether per- 
sonal or official ; extraordinary devotion to the interests of his dio- 
cese ; a tender regard for his clergy, and an earnest desire in every 
way to promote both their usefulness and their happiness. 

Nor can we fail to remember, with devout gratitude to the 
Giver of every good and perfect gift, his thorough knowledge and 
sound judgment in matters of business; his extraordinary adminis- 
trative capacity, evinced in the creation and management of the 
various trusts and charities of his diocese, especially in the mission- 
ary system of the same, originated in the beginning of his episcopate 
and carried on to the present time, with singular energy and suc- 
cess, and with a punctuality and thoroughness in its operations 
b 



1 8 History of Trinity Church 

which have elicited approval and admiration far beyond our limits 
— a system which has always been quickened by the glow of Bishop 
De Lancey's own life and love. 

We desire also to bear in grateful remembrance his strenuous 
efforts to advance the interests of Learning as the handmaid of 
Religion. Having presided with distinguished ability over one of 
the oldest universities while still a young man, he early acquired a 
strong sympathy with the cause of liberal education. Hobart Col- 
lege has been largely indebted to his generous benefactions, wise 
counsel, watchful care, and active efforts to secure its stability and 
prosperity, while the Diocesan Training School, which owes its 
existence to him, must stand forever as a monument of his en- 
lightened devotion to the noble work of qualifying men by faithful 
instruction in sound doctrine, for the office of the holy ministry. 

But Bishop De Lancey's labors and solicitudes have not been 
confined to his own diocese. On the contrary, he has ever taken a 
deep and active interest in the general institutions and affairs of our 
branch of the Catholic Church, and in the highest council thereof 
his absence will be painfully felt. His long experience, practical 
wisdom, thorough knowledge both of the principles and forms of 
ecclesiastical legislation, his fearless advocacy of the measures 
which his judgment approved, and the force of reason as well as 
weight of character and personal influence which he could bring to 
their support, gave a high value to his conclusions, and rendered 
him one of the leading members of the House of Bishops. 

Nor would our tribute be even tolerably complete should we 
fail to make grateful mention of those deeds and qualities which 
have endeared him to so many of his countrymen ; that readiness 
to sacrifice himself and his convenience and comfort to the needs 
of others ; that dignity and courtesy which were the charm of his 
social intercourse ; and that thoughtful consideration of all sorts and 
conditions of men which made him universally respected and be- 
loved, and enabled him to present a beautiful example of what is 
most desirable in an American bishop. 

At the semicentennial commemoration of the found- 
ing of the diocese of Western New York, the Reverend 
Charles W. Hayes, D. D., spoke of Bishop De Lancey as 
the pupil of both Bishop White and Bishop Hobart, with 



I 



Bishop De Lancey 19 

the prudence and gentle firmness of the one, and the 
energy and fearlessness of the other. He said that Bishop 
De Lancey's first great work was to build up the system 
of diocesan missions inaugurated in 1796, the only means 
of supporting missionary work within its own borders 
that Western New York has ever known. Doctor Hayes 
also says: 

How deeply the Bishop felt the importance of this work, how 
carefully all its details were studied by him, how the conditions, 
wants, prospects, and trials of each mission and missionary were 
always borne upon his mind and heart, none of you who knew him 
personally can forget. How he would labor to build up the church 
in this or that feeble or almost desert place, not only by visits and 
correspondence, but by large contributions from his own small 
means ! 

Owing to Bishop De Lancey's wise and loving guid- 
ance, and to the unity prevailing in the diocese, Western 
New York, with its system and order, was known through- 
out the church as " the model diocese." 

There are few left in Trinity Church today who knew 
and loved Bishop De Lancey, but we find among the 
records the following resolutions, offered by the rector 
and vestry of Trinity Church of thirty-two years ago : 

Trinity Church, Buffalo. At a special meeting of the vestry 
of Trinity Church in the city of Buffalo, convened on the sixth day 
of April, A. D. 1865, by reason of the death of our beloved and 
venerated Father in God, the Right Reverend William Heathcote 
De Lancey, D.D., LL.D., D. C.L., the following resolutions, offered 
by Mr. Henry W. Rogers, were unanimously adopted. 

" Resolved : That in the death of our deeply lamented dioc- 
esan we mourn the loss of a pure and devoted Christian bishop, 
w^ho has exemplified the highest qualities of the Christian character, 
in doctrine showing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech, 



20 



History of Trinity CJmrch 



that could not be condemned ; a pattern of good works, looking 
for that blessed hope, the glorious appearing of the great God and 
our Saviour, Jesus Christ. 

"Resolved : That we shall ever hold in the most grateful and 
respectful remembrance his truly Christian and apostolic character, 
and eminent services. Wise and judicious in his administration, 
firm and consistent in his advocacy of the principles of the church, 
and unwearied in his exertions to promote its best interests, his 
labors have been blessed in a united and harmonious diocese, and 
in the steady advancement of the great interests of our holy 
religion. 

" Resolved : That in further testimony of our high respect for 
the memory of our late Bishop, this vestry do appoint delegates 
from this parish to attend his funeral." 

Whereupon the following named gentlemen were duly ap- 
pointed ; viz. : the Reverend Doctor IngersoU ( the rector ), Henry 
W. Rogers, Robert Hollister, James M. Smith, James McCredie, 
William Laverack, Benjamin F. Smith, Thomas G. Perkins, Frank 
W. Fiske, William B. Peck, and Calvin N. Otis. 

It was also further 

"Resolved : That Trinity Church be draped in mourning, and 
that the respectful and affectionate condolence of the vestry be 
tendered to the afflicted family of the deceased, and a certified 
copy of these resolutions be sent to them, and that the same be 
published in The Gospel Messenger. 

EDWARD INGERSOLL, Rector. 
James McCredie, Clerk pro tem. 




Edward Inij^crsol 

1S44 



J 



Reverend Edward IngersoU 
1844-1874 

OUR first rector, the Reverend Doctor Hawks, was 
worthily succeeded by the Reverend Edward 
IngersoU, D. D. Descended from a family 
which had been famous in the social and political history 
of Connecticut for two hundred years, and which has 
proved its eminence up to the present day, his gifts of 
diction and his eloquence in the pulpit were a natural 
inheritance. He was born in New Haven, Connecticut, 
November 26th, 18 10; was graduated from Yale in 1831 ; 
was married in New Haven in 1836 to Catherine Frances 
Seymour, daughter of an old Southern family. 

Perhaps here it may be proper to notice the coinci- 
dence that of the four rectors of Trinity up to the present 
date, the wife of each has been a Southern woman. Doc- 
tor Hawks himself was a North Carolinian by birth and 
descent. The other three were men of Northern birth, 
and all were heart and soul on the side of the Union at 
the time of the Civil War. In Bishop Hawks's case this 
was quite a perilous position. Doctor Van Bokkelen 
was obliged to break up his school in Maryland at that 
time and leave the state on account of his Northern 
sympathies. 

Most of Doctor IngersoU's immediate family, and 
several nephews, were distinguished men. One nephew 
was governor of Connecticut, and afterward at the head 



22 History of Trinity Church 

of its bar. His sister, who was called the most beautiful 
woman in America, married the ambassador from France 
in the days of Napoleon Bonaparte. His eldest brother, 
Ralph, was senator from Connecticut, and subsequently 
minister to Russia. One of his ancestors was royal 
judge of the High Court of Admiralty before the Revo- 
lution. His brother Charles was judge of the United 
States district court. (This genealogical record is given 
for the pleasure of his old friends, as well as his many 
descendants who are still residents of Buffalo.) 

Doctor Ingersoll's first parish was at Meriden, Con- 
necticut. Thence he went to Westport, Connecticut; 
then to Troy, New York; later taking charge of Saint 
Michael's Parish, Geneseo, New York. It was during 
his rectorate at this latter parish, that, the Reverend 
Doctor Hawks having been elected to the bishopric of 
Missouri, the vestry of Trinity unanimously elected 
Doctor Ingersoll as his successor. Bishop De Lancey 
addressed James M. Smith, then clerk of the vestry, on 
this subject as follows : 

The painful intelligence of the vacancy in your parish, occa- 
sioned by the removal of Mr. Hawks, I receive with deep regret. 

The choice of a successor could not have fallen on an individ- 
ual more acceptable to myself than Mr. Ingersoll, whose qualifica- 
tions for the position are of the highest order. 

Doctor Ingersoll accepted this call, subject to an 
interval of three months, when the Reverend David M. 
Fackler, of Philadelphia, officiated; and, as the dates of 
our heading show, our city and our parish were blessed 
by his presence and ministrations for more than thirty 
years. 



Reverend Edward Ingcrsoll 2 3 

Doctor Ingersoll's reading of the ritual was unsur- 
passed in fervor and beauty of expression, and many are 
the tributes we have read which bear witness to his 
power thus to move the hearts of men. 

To quote from " Recollections of Buffalo": 

Doctor Ingersoll was a man of high intellectual attainments, 
purity and guilelessness of character, whose heart was filled with 
charity and benevolence. He was dearly beloved and venerated by 
those who sat under his teachings. I have heard him read the bap- 
tismal service and the ritual for the dead when he seemed like one 
inspired, his beautiful dark eyes glistening with angelic beauty, and 
his utterances thrilling the hearts of those who listened to him. 

From another source we quote the following para- 
graphs : 

He was a man whose long service and self-sacrifice in behalf of 
the church have won for him a name such as it has been the fortune 
of but few clergymen to achieve. 

Wherever Doctor Ingersoll went, blessings went with him. 
His work was enthusiastic ; his heart and soul were in it, and no 
labor was too severe if only the desired results could be attained. 
Socially, his deep learning and courteous manners made him a 
universal favorite. His loss, in all the circles in which he moved, 
will be irreparable. 

He was an advanced churchman for his day, not only 
in the reverence of his voice and manner in reading the 
service, but in the observance of certain forms with which 
he marked passages in the creed and litany. His reading 
was an inspiration to all who heard it. The holy days 
were observed with exactness and solemnity. On As- 
cension Day he was wont to place slips in the pews, 
reminding his people of the duty of a proper observance 
of the day and the benefit to be derived therefrom. It 



24 History of Trinity Church 

seems quite appropriate to quote here a few suggestions 
on this subject from Bishop Coxe's " Thoughts on the 
Service." 

This day concludes the glorious circuit through which the Sun 
of Righteousness has run His course. He who was God from the 
beginning was with Him in His divine nature even while He 
walked on earth and descended into Hades ; but now His human 
nature is exalted to the right hand of the Father, and we see our 
own nature in Him, advanced to the glory which is the common 
destiny of the redeemed ; for He " is not ashamed to call us breth- 
ren," and we are " made to sit with Him in heavenly places." Al- 
ready, the church, like the lark, seems to take the wings of the 
morning, and to sing at the very gate of heaven her exulting hope 
"that where He is, thither we shall also ascend, and reign with 
Him in glory." There is nothing which can enter the mind of man 
so entirely beyond all that man imagines by his own powers, and so 
ennobling to his nature, as the truth which this day celebrates. 
Poor sinners that we are, — poor dying worms, can it be that we are 
heirs of immortal glory, and that the way into the heaven of heavens 
stands wide open, so that, in body and soul, we may follow the Son 
of God, and be welcomed by Him as brethren and partakers of His 
throne ? 

To the Sunday school children Doctor Ingersoll's 
visits were a joy and delight, each class with their teacher 
rising to greet him as he made his rounds among them. 
The favored one on whom his hand chanced to rest, 
while he was speaking to them, felt its slight pressure as 
a benediction for the rest of the day. On Easter Day 
he would enter the Sunday school saying, " Christ has 
risen," with such enthusiasm and rejoicing, that it had 
the effect of the native Russian greeting, so joyous and 
universal in that country. 

His sermons were strong on all doctrinal points, and 
finished and classical in diction. Add to this a com- 
manding and singularly handsome presence, and it will 



Reverend Edward Ingersoll 2 5 

not seem strange that for years he was one of the most 
striking figures in our Buffalo pulpits. 

Mr. James M. Smith, who, as we have seen, was clerk 
of the vestry at the time of Doctor IngersoU's call to the 
rectorship, remained his lifelong and devoted friend, sus- 
taining and comforting the beloved rector under his many 
trials, and on all occasions upholding his example with zeal 
and devotion. He perpetuated this love and veneration 
by contributing generously to the fund for the erection 
of the memorial window in the chancel of the new Trinity, 
and to the building of the Church of the Good Shepherd, 
both of which are memorials to Doctor Ingersoll. The 
monument in Forest Lawn is also a tribute from personal 
friends, many of whom were not members of Trinity 
Church. Mrs. James M. Smith was a most lovely and 
attractive woman, with a heart which always responded 
to the calls of friendship and charity. The beautiful 
window and statuary which have been placed in the 
memorial chapel in her memory but give expression to 
the record of her whole life. 

Mr. S. V, R. Watson was conspicuous in the history 
of Buffalo for his public spirit and energy in planning 
various valuable institutions for the future benefit of the 
city. In fact, his ideas seemed, in some respects, ahead 
of his time, and perhaps even he builded better than he 
knew when he pushed the interests of the public library 
and laid the numerous street railroads which connected 
the almost unimproved property with that closely settled. 

The existence of Trinity Church from 1837 to 1897 
keeps pace with the Victorian era, which we are now 
celebrating. In church architecture, as well as in our 
social life, the progress of taste is made strikingly mani- 



26 History of Trinity Church 

fest; and the fundamental principles of decorative art 
which sixty years ago were forgotten, or at least rarely 
practiced, are now universally observed. People are in a 
wider sense than ever before " the heirs of all the ages," 
and the glories of the past and the stately elegance of 
Queen Anne's and Queen Elizabeth's times are now ap- 
propriately used in modern buildings and decorations. 
In 1837 these principles were regarded with indifference 
by our grandfathers; and we will therefore forgive the 
architects and builders of our first edifice for its singular 
design. In its attempt to follow a classical model, the 
oblong hall was spoken of as very " chaste and beautiful." 
It had one valuable peculiarity in which modern churches 
often fail — its acoustic properties were perfect. We who 
recall the slippery haircloth seats and narrow pews, the 
simple chancel with its great guardian pillars, the mot- 
toes on the wall, the faded upholstery, with the plain 
organ gallery at the end of the nave, may well wonder at 
the popularity of the building, and the love its people 
bore it. But there were times when even the plain 
interior was a bower of beauty. At Christmas the 
wreaths were twined by the women of the church, 
and young men and maidens met in the basement for 
work, as well as social enjoyment. It was often hung 
with heavy wreaths looped from corner to corner, and 
the windows were festooned as with evergreen hangings, 
the natural pine trees filling in spaces which made the 
church for the time a veritable cathedral of Nature's own 
designing. At Easter, the altar was a bank of flowers ; 
large balls of brilliant colors hung from the chandeliers, 
and each v/indow was a miniature conservatory of grow- 
ing plants. 



Reverend Edward Ingersoll 2 7 

In the dense crowd which filled the church on the 
great festivals were beautiful women and brave men, 
whose faces, alas! are seen no more, but whose memory 
still lingers with us. There were more men as regular 
attendants in those days than now, and the responses 
came full and deep from pews which now are silent. To 
repeat the list of names would be almost to rewrite the 
early directory of Buffalo, but we venture to attempt a 
list of the early pew holders. 

Pew Holders — i\pril, 1S47 



Charles R. Gold, 

Curtiss L. Brace, 

Henry W. Rogers and James M. 
Smith, 

Aaron D. Patchin, 

Sheldon Thompson, 

James B. Dubois, 

Hiram P. Thayer, 

Orrin B. Titus and Judson Har- 
mon, 

Elisha A. Maynard, 

William Williams, 

John Shepard, 

Gibson T. Williams and George 
L. Newman, 

John Dodge, 

Woolsey W. Radcliff, 

William A. Sutton, 

Charles H. S. Williams, 

Captain William Dickson, 

Cyrus P. Lee, 

William R. Vickory, 

Thomas Kilderhouse, 

John L. Talcott, 

David S. Battey, 



James Radcliff, 
William L. G. Smith, 
Robert Hollister, 
Rufus C. Palmer, 
F. W. Newbould, 
Henry M. Kinne, 
Elam R. Jewett, 
Jacob S. Miller, 
Ambrose S. Sterling, 
Nehemiah Case, 
Cyrenius C. Bristol, 
James C. Evans, 
William Woodruff, 
John Cook, 
Eli Cook, 

Frederick Shadrake, 
Doctor Walter Cary, 
George W. Langdon, 
Harry Thompson, 
Mrs. Benjamin Hersee, 
George W. Houghton, 
Pardon C. Sherman, 
John Drake, 
Mrs. Mark Sibley, 
Benjamin S. Bidwell, 



28 History of Trinity Chtirch 

John Bull, Edward H. Button, 

James McCredie, John Fleeharty, 

Lucas Messtler, Henry Daw, 

Henry Daw and James DeLong, William B. and Charles 

Peter L. Parsons, E. Peck, 

Samuel Stearns, Henry Kip, 

Fayette Rumsey, William Laverack, 

Manley Colton, William H. Eckley, 

J. Carew, John Griffith, 

B. A. Mumford, Alonzo W. Johnson, 

Samuel F. Gelston, Robert McPherson, 

Dyre Tillinghast, Misses Kimberly, 

John M. Hutchinson, Cyrus Athearn, 

David Burt, William O. Brown, 

James DeLong, Absalom Bull, 

Asa T. Wood, Samuel K. Worthington, 

Samuel Purdy, S. V. R. Watson. 

During the last forty years [says one of the newspapers of long 
ago], the pew list of this venerable church has borne the names 
of many of Buffalo's oldest, most honored, and socially distin- 
guished citizens. Within its walls, too, have worshiped those 
whom the nation delighted to honor. One bright Sunday morning 
in 1846, that "old man eloquent," ex-president John Quincy Adams, 
sat among the worshipers, the guest of Mr. Henry W. Rogers. 

Charitable work, though very differently managed 
from that of the present time, was faithfully performed 
by the women of the parish. They went basket in hand 
from room to room in the old tenement houses on Seneca 
Street, and over the canal bridge, trying to help and 
comfort those less favored than they. Duty was a word 
as well understood in those days as the present, and was 
perhaps fulfilled with more personal sacrifice. 

One small incident occurs to the writer which although 
of no importance in itself, seems worthy of record because 
it has lived through all these many years — a pleasant 



Revere7id Edward Ingersoll 29 

memory of a beautiful and gracious woman, Mrs. Emily 
Evstaphieve. Asking her one day if she would con- 
tribute to some charity, she immediately replied, " Why, 
certainly ; I have been wondering what I should do with 
this bill I have tucked away in my purse"; and the 
generous, kindly manner of the giving made an impres- 
sion quite beyond the value of the gift. 

' ' And when the stream 
Which overflowed the soul was passed away, 
A consciousness remained that it had left. 
Deposited upon the silent shore 
Of memory, images and precious thoughts 
That shall not die and cannot be destroyed." 

The example of such a mother, as has been the case 
with many others in this old church of ours, has left its 
mark upon their descendants, causing them to love the 
church and to willingly share in its work. 

Mrs. William Laverack also was one of the old-time 
givers and workers. She collected most of the fund for 
the Ingersoll memorial window. Notably in this con- 
nection, though of later date, we would add the names 
of Mrs. Thomas F. Rochester, Mrs. Peter A. Porter, 
Miss Sabina Morris, and Mrs. James McCredie. These, 
and many, many more, have found that 

"Amid all life's quests 
There seems but worthy one — to do men good." 

During the war times the women of Trinity, as well 
as those of all the churches in Buffalo, were enthusias- 
tically working for the armies of the North. Mrs. Horatio 
Seymour, of Saint Paul's Church, a most conscientious 
and capable woman, fearless and determined in a right 



30 History of Trinity Church 

cause, was president of the Soldiers' Aid Society. Miss 
Maria M. Love was also an active member in this society, 
and thus began in her youthful days the philanthropic 
work in which she is still so eminent and capable. 

Among some unpublished reminiscences of that time 
is that of an amateur performance of " The Mistletoe 
Bough," given at the opera house for this cause. Many 
of the actors are still prominent in our social life. Mrs. 
Samuel M. Welch appeared as one of the young maids 
dusting in the attic, where, to her horror, she discovers 
the skeleton in the " old oak chest." (It had been fur- 
nished from the study of Doctor Walter Cary.) Mrs. 
Fanny L. Dole (mother of Mrs. Charles De Laney), a 
sweet singer of that day, gave the music and story be- 
tween the acts, and Miss Elizabeth Love (the bride) 
appeared in the last scene, ascending to heaven, borne up 
by a group of admiring angels. It has ever since been a 
relief to the children who witnessed the play to know 
that it wasn't her skeleton that was found in the " old 
oak chest." 

To go a little further back chronologically, the insti- 
tution of Doctor Ingersoll was an important era in the 
history of Trinity. The church had become very popu- 
lar, and the seating capacity was already too small. So, 
at the annual sale and renting of pews, certain square 
pews accomodating eight or ten people in separate sit- 
tings were sold for the occupancy of families. One of 
these had been rented to a party of bachelors, who were 
thus sold out, and had to accept the hospitality of friends, 
which was not an agreeable arrangement. The party of 
young gentlemen was composed of Thomas C. Welch, 
Doctor John S. Trowbridge, Doctor Sylvester F. Mixer, 



Reverend Edzvard Ingersoll 3 1 

Ai Rollins, Edmund P. Pickering, James L. Butler, 
Charles Pickering, Otis P. Sheldon, and Samuel M. Welch. 

Soon after Easter they met at a convivial supper in a 
popular restaurant called the Pantheon. One topic of 
discussion was, " What shall we do for sittings in Trin- 
ity ? " Finally, the suggestion was offered that then and 
there they should organize a new parish. The idea was 
certainly a novel one to proceed from a set of gay young 
men, not one of whom had then been confirmed. But it 
showed a more serious interest in church matters than 
most young men exhibit nowadays. This was the be- 
ginning of Saint John's, the grandchild of Saint Paul's. 

The music has always been a prominent feature in 
Trinity Church. Mrs. Barton Hill, soprano, was a very 
accomplished musician. Her singing was most inspir- 
ing and sympathetic. She moved the feelings of a con- 
gregation or of a secular audience as few singers can. 
At a patriotic meeting, during the Civil War, she led in 
the national hymn, the whole audience joining in the 
chorus of" The Star Spangled Banner." It was an occasion 
never to be forgotten by those who were present. Some 
of the musicians whose names were long associated with 
the choir are Mrs. Anderson, Miss Eliza Maltby, Mr. 
Frank Pease, and Mr. Booker. Mrs. Rushmore Poole, 
Mrs. Ambrose S. Sterling, Mrs. Ida Lee Mayhew, Mrs. 
Sears, Mrs. Hoffman, Miss Charlotte Hedge, Mr. WilHam 
Eckley, Mr. Barton, Mr. Everett Baker, and Mr. Laurence 
were succeeding organists, and, later, John R. Blodgett, 
Robert Denton, and William Kaffenberger. Other soloists 
were Miss Sweet, James M. Kimberly, the Misses Evsta- 
phieve, Mr. Jesse Ketchum, Miss Christine Dossert, and 
Mr. Charles Hager. The latter thus early commenced his 



32 History of Trinity Church 

work with the choir, and at this date (March, 1897) we 
are pleased to state that he is still in charge of the choris- 
ters. Five years ago he reached the twenty-fifth anniver- 
sary of his connection with the choir, and received cordial 
testimonials from the congregation. 

The year 1852 was a sad one for the dear rector. 
His lovely eldest daughter was failing in health, and 
eventually died of consumption. He was obliged to re- 
quest leave of absence for several months, in order to 
give his child "those temporal comforts, and above all 
those spiritual consolations which a person in her sad 
condition so greatly needs." Proper arrangements were 
made by the vestry for conducting the services in Doctor 
Ingersoll's absence, and he went on his fruitless journey. 
His wife's health gradually failed, and although she sur- 
vived this trial for several years, she was always an in- 
valid and a source of loving care and anxiety to her hus- 
band. In 1 86 1 it became necessary that Doctor Ingersoll 
should take his wife to Minnesota, hoping by change of 
climate to arrest the disease from which she was suffering. 
Thus again, he was obliged to leave his young family in 
charge of others, his pulpit to an assistant, and his beau- 
tiful young daughter Susette without the mother's care. 
This young lady afterwards married Mr. Robert Hayes, 
and died early in life. 

It was during this absence of Doctor Ingersoll that the 
Reverend Doctor Starkey had charge of the parish. He 
was a clergyman of rare gifts and much beloved. 

Mrs. Ingersoll was not benefited by the change, and 
her death occurred in 1866. The vestry passed tender 
resolutions of regret and sympathy, and requested Doc- 
tor Ingersoll to give up his parochial duties for a time, 



Reverend Edward Ingersoll 33 

hoping it might restore his health and peace of mind. 
The women of the church erected a tablet to Mrs. Inger- 
soll's memor}', which was placed in the chancel. 

The Doctor bore all these afflictions uncomplainingly, 
and returned to his accustomed duties and occupations, 
knowing that " the heart knoweth his own bitterness, and 
a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy." The 
expression " the patient Ingersoll," as used by one of the 
standing committee of the diocese in speaking of him, 
reveals the world of sad experiences through which he 
had passed. 

At v^arious times in the history of the church, begin- 
ning as early as 1852, schemes for selling the old build- 
ing and moving further uptown had been proposed, once 
resulting in quite a large subscription for the purpose, 
and again in really purchasing a lot on Delaware Ave- 
nue, at the corner of Park Place. But the locality not 
meeting favor with a large number of the subscribers, it 
was eventually abandoned. The question of consolida- 
tion with Christ Church had also been taken up; and 
although both vestries seemed favorable to the project, 
objections seemed constantly to arise, until our vestry 
became discouraged and gave up the hope of ever getting 
the congregation out of the old locality. These few 
words cover the experiences of several years, but the 
details would not be interesting reading. Doctor Inger- 
soll, also, grieved and disappointed by the failure of the 
project which seemed to promise prosperity and unity 
for the church, with much sorrow resigned his rector- 
ship. He had refused the position of one of the assistant 
ministers of Trinity Church, New York: he had been 
elected to all the offices in the diocese which he was 



34 History of Trinity Church 

willing to accept, and had uniformly filled them with 
honor to himself and his people, but his singularly un- 
ambitious nature seemed to resist the idea of change, 
even in promotion. 

His letter of resignation was as follows: 

I hereby resign the rectorship of Trinity Church, Buffalo, this 
resignation to take place on the first day of March, 1874, the thir- 
tieth anniversary of my incumbency of this parish. 

It is exceedingly painful to sunder the bonds which have united 
us for so many years in such a sacred relationship, but I deem it 
best that a separation should take place. For many years my 
relations to Trinity Church were everything I could have wished 
them to be, marked as they were by kind attentions, Christian 
sympathy, and evidences of attachment too strong and numerous 
ever to be forgotten. And, indeed, I have reason to believe that 
towards me personally there still remain very strong feelings of 
attachment. But all this can never compensate for the loss of what 
I deem to be the vital interests of this parish. 

The indifference evinced by a large and influential portion of 
the congregation on the matter of the erection of a new church edi- 
fice (a project which was entered upon with so much enthusiasm in 
the spring of 1871), the greatly diminished number of those who 
attend the public worship of the church, the neglect — and in some 
cases the absolute refusal — to pay the taxes and rents, — these, 
and other things which might be mentioned, are indications of 
apathy, which, if not arrested, must result in increasing languish- 
ment and decay, and, ultimately, in the extinction of the parish. 

May the good Lord avert from it such a dreadful catastrophe ! 
May He direct you to the choice of a worthy successor to the rec- 
torship — a man who can meet the difficulties and dangers which 
■encompass our beloved parish with more wisdom and zeal and 
energy and endurance than your present rector can command. 

Affectionately your pastor, 

EDWARD INGERSOLL. 

Trinity Church Rectory, 
October nth, A. D. 1873. 



Reverend Edward Ingersoll 35 

Doctor Ingersoll was ultimately induced to extend 
his services to Easter Monday. The vestry, in accepting 
their rector's resignation, passed the following resolutions : 

Resolved : that in accepting the resignation of the Reverend 
Edward Ingersoll, D. D., as rector of this parish, we do so with 
feelings of pain and sorrow which no words of ours can adequately 
express, and which we are confident are shared by every member 
of this parish. For a period of thirty years he has been our pastor, 
teacher, and friend ; he has broken to us the bread of life ; he has 
preached to us with impressive earnestness and power the Gospel 
of the Everlasting Kingdom ; he has rejoiced with us in all our joys, 
and sympathized with and consoled us in every sorrow and afflic- 
tion ; and in all the sacred and endearing relations of pastor and 
people he has been united to us by ties of ever increasing tender- 
ness and strength. We shall never cease to feel the debt of grati- 
tude and affection we have for him, and we invoke upon his future 
years the bountiful blessings of Heaven. 

JAMES M. SMITH, 
ROBERT HOLLISTER, 
SAMUEL K. WORTHINGTON. 
February loth, 1874. 

Having for the sake of continuity continued the his- 
tory of Doctor Ingersoll's pastorate up to the time of 
his resignation, it is necessary to retrace our steps and 
record some of the important events, as well as the names 
of individuals prominent in the affairs of the parish for 
many years. 

In 1855, the committee from the vestry for procuring 
subscriptions for a new church was, Henry W. Rogers, 
Stephen V. R. Watson, John M. Hutchinson, Alexander 
A. Evstaphieve, and George L. Newman. 

In 1857, Mr. Rushmore Poole, having had the super- 
vision of the choir for nineteen consecutive years, signified 



^6 History of Trinity Church 

his intention to withdraw. His duty had been for some 
years combined with those of treasurer and of clerk of the 
vestry. The vestry passed a resolution of thanks to 
him for his faithful administration during the whole 
period of the existence of the parish. 

Other names connected with the parish, suggested 
from memory, are Doctor and Mrs. Charles Winne, Mr, 
and Mrs. Cyrus P. Lee, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel M. Welch, 
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas C. Welch, Doctor Austin Flint, 
Oscar F. Crary, Curtis L. Brace, Mrs. Jason Sexton, Mrs. 
Thomas Perkins, Mrs. E. V. Smith, General Bennet Riley 
and family, Charles Pickering, Mr. and Mrs. William 
Williams, Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Maynard, Aaron D. 
Patchin, Mr. and Mrs. John Hollister, Mr. and Mrs. Wil- 
liam Lovering, Hugh and John Allen, Judson Hanan, 
Robert A. Brown, Harry Thompson, John H, Vought, 
James C, Harrison, David P. Dobbins, Doctor John 
Hauenstein, Miss E. Clark, Edward B. Smith, General 
and Mrs. Berry, S. F. Sherman, Edward H. Dutton, S. 
Brush, L. D. Caldwell, Theodore and Julia McKnight, 
Henry C. Winslow, George Gorham, John Ganson, 
Moses Smith, T. P. Clarkson, James W. Brown, Jesse C, 
Dann, Charles Ensign, William B. Peck, Andrew G. C. 
Cochrane, Ammi W, Cutter, Robert H, Stevens, Joseph 
L. Fairchild, Charles G. Irish, Cornelius R. Ganson, 
Moses M. Richmond, Gibson T. Williams, William L. 
Dorsheimer, Henry L. Lansing, Bronson C. Rumsey, 
Sylvester F. Mixer, Charles R. Gold, Cyrus Clarke, 
George L. Clinton, Doctor Thomas F. Rochester, Isaac 
W. Brownell, Augustus C. Taylor, Albert Barnard, Shel- 
don Pease, Orson Phelps, Thomas Kasson, Chandler J. 
Wells, F. A. Newbould, Doctor Frederick S, Dellenbaugh, 



Reverend Bdzum^d higersoll 3 7 

Cyrenius C. Bristol, William A. Bird, junior, Townsend 
Davis, Frank W. Fiske, Edward B. Smith, Henr}^ R, 
Watson, William E. Foster, Mrs. Elizabeth Porter, Miss 
Sabina Morris. The early records having been lost, 
probably in their removal from the old church, it is im- 
possible to verify the list. 

In i860 the name of Rufus L. Howard appears in the 
list of the vestry. From that time till the year of his 
death, 1896, he has been a valued and constant friend 
and adviser of the rector and vestry, and was warden for 
many years. It is still a pleasant memory with the 
congregation to recall the handsome, erect figures of 
David P. Dobbins and Rufus L. Howard walking up the 
aisle to leave their offerings at the altar. 

In 1863 the name of James McCredie, the lifelong 
friend and the generous benefactor of the new church, 
appears on the vestry. This date also marks the death 
of Henry Daw, warden since the time of the organization 
of the parish. Mr. Robert Hollister became his successor. 
His name and that of Mrs. Hollister are conspicuous in 
the church annals, as well as in society. 

In 1864 occurred the death of the loved and honored 
Bishop De Lancey, the first bishop of Western New 
York. The resolutions of the vestry are included in the 
sketch of his life which has been given. 

In 1867, Frederick Shadrake, the faithful servant and 
sexton of the parish, died, and a resolution of regret was 
passed by the vestry. 

The year 1868 is marked in the church annals by the 
death of its former rector. Bishop Hawks. The action 
of the vestry was as follows, James M. Smith presenting 
the memorial: 



38 History of Trinity Church 

Inasmuch as it has pleased Almighty God in His wise provi- 
dence to remove from his earthly labors the Right Reverend Cicero 
Stephens Hawks, D. D., Bishop of Missouri, we, the rector, war- 
dens, and vestrymen of Trinity Church, Buffalo, (of which he was 
the first rector, ) assembled to take action suitable to this mournful 
occasion, and place upon record this memorial of our affection for 
our first rector, and of our grief at the death of a distinguished and 
faithful soldier and servant of the cross. 

He came to this parish in the year 1837, but a few months after 
its organization, and for nearly seven years he labored with singu- 
lar zeal and wisdom to establish it upon firm foundations, to enlarge 
its borders, and to build it up in strength and beauty. 

As we look back to those years of his faithful, devout, and ear- 
nest labors among us, we feel how deeply this parish was indebted 
to him, under God, for its rapid growth, its uniform prosperity, for 
its present stability, and for the efficiency, harmony, and charity 
which have marked its history. 

Called and divinely consecrated to the work of a bishop in the 
church, he illustrated in that new and wider field of labor the same 
noble gifts and graces which had made him the successful rector. 
Zealously devoting himself to the work of carrying to every part of 
his widely extended diocese the glad tidings of the gospel of Christ, 
he was indeed "an example of the believer, in word, in conversa- 
tion, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." 

Amid many trials and discouragements he ever labored faith- 
fully to do the work of an evangelist and make full proof of his 
ministry. He has left upon his diocese the impress of his life and 
character, and the good seed which he has sown will, we hope and 
pray, bear abundant fruit to the glory of God. 

But it was not only in the duties of his holy office that we recall 
his worth and mourn his loss, but as a scholar of polished learning 
and varied attainments, as a Christian gentleman unsurpassed in 
the true graces and courtesies of life, as a bright example in all the 
sweet, delightful relations of social existence, as a citizen and 
a patriot whose loyalty to his country's cause and honor in the hour 
of her trial shone unsullied by the prejudices of birth and associa- 
tion. Of him can it be justly said, "All that a man and a Christian 
should be, that he was." His Master called him in the midst of his 
years, and he has gone to that rest and reward to which he looked 
forward with the eye of faith. 



Reverend Edzvard Ingersoll 



He will long be mourned by those to whom he ministered in 
spiritual things ; his memory and character will be the precious 
heritage of his diocese ; and his name and fame will live in the an- 
nals of the American Church. 

J. McCREDIE, 

Clerk of the Vestry. 
May 1 2th, 1868. 

This memorial was forwarded to the Reverend Mont- 
gomery Schuyler, then in charge of a parish in Saint 
Louis, and formerly rector of Saint John's Church, 
Buffalo. In his letter of acknowledgment he says: 

I thank you, in behalf of the Standing Committee, for being 
thus remembered by the parish of Trinity Church in the day of our 
bereavement. I will transmit one of the memorials to Rlrs. Hawks, 
and I have no doubt that it will be peculiarly grateful to her, 
coming from a flock of whom the Bishop so often spoke with loving 
tenderness. 

Truly your friend, 

M. SCHUYLER. 

In 1 87 1 Mr. Henry W. Rogers removed to Michigan, 
and severed his connection with the parish; and Mr. 
James M. Smith, a long-time vestryman, was made war- 
den in his place. Mr. Rogers was a prominent lawyer 
and successful business man, and active in all the affairs 
of the church. He was much missed, both in society 
and in the parish. Mrs. Rogers's loss to the church and 
community was deeply felt. A lady of the old school, 
she was unpretentious and unassuming in character, and 
won all hearts by her sweetness and sympathy. 

Many representatives from central New York emi- 
grated here in the early days, forming an intelligent and 
high-toned circle, whose influence on Buffalo society is 
still apparent. Among these were Mrs. Mark Sibley, a 



40 History of Trinity Church 

devout churchwoman and a most generous giver, and her 
daughter, Mrs. John Ganson, whose lifelong sorrow in 
the sudden death of her distinguished husband still has 
sympathizers in those who knew and admired him in the 
days so long ago; Doctor and Mrs. James P. White, 
whose elegant home was the center of a gracefully dis- 
pensed hospitality, and who were pronounced church 
people, Doctor White being also one of the leading 
practitioners in western New York; Mr, and Mrs. Lewis 
Jenkins, with their lovely family of daughters, of whom 
Mrs. Jason Sexton was one. 

The golden wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins was 
celebrated in i860, with a service of prayer and praise, 
conducted by the Reverend Doctor Ingersoll. The Right 
Reverend Bishop Coxe and the Reverend Doctor Shelton 
were also present. One verse of the poem written in 
their honor seemed to be verified in the closing days of 
their life together: 

"Now resting on life's steep ascent. 

Its toilsome journey over. 
They almost see the promised land 

Across the flowing river ; 
And standing by its swelling tide, 

Thus, side by side, together. 
How sweet to say, how sweet to know 

It will be thus forever ! " 



Mrs. Jenkins died in April, 1873, and her husband fol- 
lowed her the next month. It was said of them : " Thus 
have passed away two pure and beautiful lives, which, 
though long withdrawn from the bustle and cares of 
worldly excitement and business, will be cherished in the 



Reverend Edward Ingersoll 4 1 

memory of a living circle of friends as among the few 
consistent examples of Christian character which reaped 
to the full the promised reward, 'With long life will I 
satisfy them, and show them my salvation.' The faith 
which as members of our holy church they professed 
in early life was their guide and solace during their long 
earthly pilgrimage, and their household was ever con- 
ducted in the simplicity and earnestness of the true fol- 
lowers of Jesus." 

Mr. and Mrs. Charles D. Norton were also from 
Canandaigua ; and, though not members of Trinity, were 
intimately associated with the names mentioned. John 
Ganson, Charles D. Norton, and George Gorham are 
names which have lent brilliance to the legal reputation 
of Buffalo. Mr, and Mrs. H. L. Lansing also belonged 
to this colony from central New York. Mr. Trumbull 
Cary, though not a resident of Buffalo, was so near a 
neighbor in Batavia, that, looking back to those early 
times when important people all knew each other, he 
seems almost like one of us. His son, Doctor Walter 
Cary, was always a conspicuous figure, and his family for 
many years filled two pews in old Trinity, and were 
active workers in church and Sunday school. Doctor and 
Mrs. Thomas F. Rochester, though of later date, came 
from Geneva and represented the conservative element 
so strong in these early residents. Mrs. Rochester, the 
daughter of Bishop De Lancey, brought to her new home 
the strong churchly principles in which she had been edu- 
cated, remarkable literary culture, and the daily example 
of dtity first, which never dies or is forgotten. Doctor 
Rochester was an extremely popular and beloved physi- 
cian, and his death was deeply felt in the community. 



42 History of Trinity Church 

The custom of presenting memorials was not so gen- 
eral in the early part of Doctor Ingersoll's rectorate as it 
became under the new regime; but we find a record that 
the first font, which is now with the altar furnishings at 
the IngersoU Memorial Church, was purchased with the 
money earned by little girls who made and sold holders 
and other practical articles. 

The ecclesiastical candlesticks which were first placed 
on the altar of old Trinity were brought as a gift from 
Europe by Miss Maria M. Love. Mrs. Gary and Miss 
Elizabeth Love at the same time presented an embroi- 
dered altar cloth and kneeling stool. 

The importance of Mr, S. V. R. Watson's position in 
the community has been elsewhere alluded to. His 
interest in the progress of the city was also carried into 
the affairs of the church, in which he was for several 
years a vestryman. Since his death, Mrs. Watson has 
been most liberal in her contributions towards beautify- 
ing the new church. Two famous La Farge windows have 
been donated by her as memorials to members of her 
family. One belongs to the series of chancel windows, 
and one is placed in the memorial chapel. When the 
latter was exhibited at the French Exposition by the 
artist, he was offered a large price for it by the French 
government. But the first patron would not resign her 
claim, and it is now a lasting monument to his fame, in 
the church which some one has said will eventually be the 
Mecca to which all lovers of artistic work of that kind 
will journey for study and instruction. Other very beauti- 
ful windows in the same style are from Tiffany & Co., 
New York. Most of the windows were presented during 
the rectorate of Doctor Van Bokkelen. 



Reverend Edward Ingersoll 43 

The Ladies' Aid Society insured Doctor Ingersoll's 
life. The memory of the first two wardens, Henry Daw 
and Captain Samuel L. Russell, was perpetuated by the 
erection of tablets within the church, which have since 
been removed to the memorial chapel of new Trinity. 
That of Captain Russell was the gift of Bishop Hawks. 
Later, a tablet was erected to the memory of Jerry Rad- 
cliffe, which also has been removed to the new church. 
He was an unassuming and accomplished gentleman, 
who figured quite prominently in the early annals of the 
city, and who had several beautiful daughters, afterwards 
known as Mrs. Robert Hollister, Mrs. William Laverack, 
Mrs. James A. Cowing, Mrs. Walter Joy, and Mrs. Thomas 
Kip. 

Upon Doctor Ingersoll's retirement from Trinity he 
accepted the temporary charge of Saint Peter's Church, 
Niagara Falls, where he remained two years. On his 
return to Buffalo, he consented to accept the chaplaincy 
of the Church Home, and by a resolution of the rector 
and vestry of Trinity Church, he was elected rector 
emeritus, which honor was conveyed to him with the 
accompanying testimony: 



The wardens and vestry of Trinity Church, in common with 
the parishioners, bear in grateful remembrance the long and faith- 
ful services of Doctor Ingersoll as their rector ; and whereas the 
present rector has suggested and requested that he be elected rec- 
tor emeritus of Trinity Church, be it resolved that the position be 
tendered to Doctor Ingersoll as a token of the esteem of his former 
parishioners, and that he be requested to unite with them at public 
worship, taking such part as may be convenient to himself, and 
with the express understanding that he assumes no labor or respon- 
sibility by acceptance of the position, except such as he may volun- 
tarily choose to undertake. 



44 History of Trinity Church 

His reply was cordial and characteristic, in which he 
said: 

I accept the position, assuring you, gentlemen, that I appreci- 
ate very highly the honor thus conferred upon me. It will be a 
blessed privilege to unite with you at public worship, in the same 
church where for so many years I served in the sacred ministry, 
and it will afford me much pleasure to assist your esteemed rector 
from time to time, in such services as may be agreeable to him. 

Bishop Coxe, in a letter to the vestry on this subject, 
writes as follows: 

Assure the vestry of the great respect with which I review their 
action, honorable as it is to all parties concerned ; a fitting tribute 
to the honored and beloved divine who so long served them under 
God, and most creditable to the present incumbent, without whose 
liberal proposal the vestry could not have tendered such a distinc- 
tion to his reverend predecessor. 

It is pleasant to discover that long, faithful, and stainless min- 
istrations at the altar are not always forgotten. 

I pray that Doctor IngersoU may long be spared to adorn this 
position, and that every good result may attend this action of the 
rector and vestry. 

A. CLEVELAND COXE, 

Bishop of Western New York. 

The ending of this long and beautiful life came sud- 
denly at the Church Home, on the evening of February 
6th, 1883, the evening of Ash Wednesday. Peacefully, 
sweetly, without one pang of suffering or dread, " he was 
not, for God took him." The news of Doctor IngersoU's 
death sent a thrill of regret through the community, 
deep and heartfelt at the loss of so noble a man. None 
stood higher in the estimation of the public. Of impos- 
ing presence and deep learning, he filled a pulpit as few 




Edward Ingersoll 
1875 



•y^i^HH 



Reverend Edward Ingersoll 45 

other men can. Notwithstanding his age, his form was 
erect and vigorous, and his voice had a sonorous, mu- 
sical ring which will never be forgotten by those who 
heard it. As a man and a Christian he was known of 
all men, and honored of all. 

Mr. James N. Matthews, as editor of the Express, was 
long a unique figure in American journalism. His tren- 
chant pen was a terror to his enemies, or those whose 
course he condemned; but to his friends never knight 
bore himself more gallantly than he. Generous, sympa- 
thetic, and tender, his facile pen ever expressed the most 
touching sympathy for his friends in affliction. A prom- 
inent member of the Episcopal church, and vestryman of 
Saint John's, all the church charities received liberally 
from his hands; and in the diocesan conventions, as well 
as in the administration of church affairs at home, his 
voice rang out clear and true. When Saint John's church 
was divided, the most influential part coming up town 
with Christ Church, he chose to continue his allegiance 
to his old parish; and as his church life began there, 
there it should end. No one has spoken of our deceased 
rector with higher appreciation or more tender sympathy 
than he, and we are glad to put on record in this history 
his beautiful tribute to the memory of Doctor Ingersoll, 
which appeared in the columns of the Buffalo Express 
and which carries with it a touching proof of Mr. 
Matthews's love and respect for the Doctor. 

There never was within our knowledge a more truly lovable 
character than that which endeared Edward Ingersoll to the hearts 
of all who had the honor and pleasure of his acquaintance. 

And this is but the simplest form of eulogy that will spring un- 
bidden to the lips of all who speak of him as they knew him, 



46 History of Trinity Church 

whether as the brilliant and singularly handsome young minister 
who came to Buffalo when elected rector of Trinity Church nearly 
forty years ago, or as the faithful spiritual guide and domestic friend 
who went in and out among his flock during a pastorate of over 
thirty years, or as the venerable and distinguished clergyman who 
in his later life cheerfully took upon himself the ill-requited and 
humble chaplaincy of the Home for Destitute and Aged Women, 
and Orphans. Never was there a man less selfish, never a man 
more charitable, never a clergyman more devoted. There was 
this remarkable thing about Doctor IngersoU — the universal affec- 
tion which came to him as the natural tribute to his own affectionate 
disposition. He was admired for those noble gifts which shone 
alike in the study, at the desk, and in the pulpit. To hear him read 
the church service was at once a lesson and a comfort, for he 
always read as he felt, and that was, as he once said to a friend, as 
if he must read for more than a man's life, — for his soul ! 

To hear him preach was to enjoy an intellectual feast with edi- 
fication. He was respected for his utterly unselfish devotion to 
duty. But he was all-loved because it seemed that he was almost 
Godlike in his love for his fellow-men. He was loved for himself 
because he was himself He was loved as one loves a little child, 
because of all men he was most childlike, in that supreme unworld- 
liness and that sweet trustfulness which are so rarely found in chil- 
dren of a larger growth. 

Yet this true Christian's life was one long exemplification of 
that mystery of affliction which causes men to wonder at the 
workings of Providence. Sometimes it seemed that unmerited 
misfortunes fell upon him faster and heavier than poor human- 
ity could bear. He had a large family : some of the children fell 
sick and died ; their beloved mother was a hopeless invalid for 
many years, and he was her constant nurse ; she was taken from 
him at last when the younger ones that were left most needed a 
mother's care. 

In his prime, he subdued the promptings of honorable ambition 
and refused such high preferment in the church as would have 
brought him wealth and distinction, to remain here, where duty 
called him early. Yet, when past his prime, he left that cherished 
charge for a point of principle, in respect to the temporalities of the 
parish, although it might almost be said he knew not where to 
lay his head. 



Reverejid Edward Ingersoll 47 

He was never more truly great than when he made that severe 
sacrifice. Doctor Ingersoll was "a man of sorrows and acquainted 
with grief," yet in his old age he could look back with resignation 
upon his long record of suffering and say, 

" Time has laid his hand 
Upon my heart, gently, not smiting it. 
But as a harper lays his open palm 
Upon his harp, to deaden its vibrations," 

And the end was peace ! 

The funeral services were held in Trinity Church. The 
ladies decorated and draped the church in accordance 
with the well-known simple tastes of the late rector 
emeritus. Bishop Coxe, the Reverend Doctor John W. 
Brown of Saint Paul's, and the Reverend Doctor Van 
Bokkelen, assisted by the Episcopal clergy of the city, 
conducted the service. The remains rested in a red 
cedar casket, cloth-covered, with trimmings of silver. It 
bore this inscription : 

Edward Ingersoll, 
Born November 26th, 1810, 
Died February 6th, 1883. 

The honorary pallbearers were William Laverack, 
William H. Walker, Samuel K. Worthington, A. Porter 
Thompson, Cyrus P. Lee, James M. Smith; the carriers 
were John Kimberly, George Gorham, Thomas Cary, 
George E. Laverack, Hobart Weed, Albert B. Sprague. 

On All Saints' Day following his death, a large alms 
basin of hammered silver, a set of altar books, and a 
handsome marble tablet were presented as memorials of 
Doctor Ingersoll. 

Bishop Coxe preached a sermon in his memory, of 
which the text was " Mark the perfect man, and behold 



48 History of Trinity Church 

the upright: for the end of that man is peace." — Psalm 
37: })']. After general remarks on the feast of All Saints, 
its place in the Christian year, and its practical consola- 
tions, the Bishop said it was highly appropriate on this 
occasion to recall the memory of the beloved servant of 
Christ whose name must be forever associated with this 
church. 



For thirty years its pastor, he has bequeathed to it as a lasting 
legacy his pure example and his lofty character. Last year, on 
this very day, it was my privilege to stand with him at the altar of 
the little chapel in the Church Home, and to mark the deep feeling 
with which he ministered. More than once I saw tears in his eyes 
as he read the touching words of the service, and I knew he was 
recalling his own beloved dead, and drinking in at the same time 
all the joy and comfort which are imparted by the words of Him 
who is the resurrection and the life. At that time two presbyters of 
this diocese survived, and still went in and out among us, who 
stood in the first rank of our clergy, whose long and faithful services 
had endeared them to the whole community, and who were honored 
by the diocese as its foremost men. They were indeed like those 
twin columns which adorned the portals of the ancient temple, the 
one a token of humility and the other of strength, the one indicating 
reliance on the Most High, while the other gave an example of 
human effort. The one reminded me of the Ionic pillar in its 
beauty and classic grace ; the other always stood like a Doric col- 
umn, a solid and enduring support to whatever rested upon his 
shoulders. 

There was in their very forms and features respectively a cor- 
responding character ; both were men of marked personal dignity, 
and of distinguished presence; but the one was conspicuously 
graceful, and even beautiful, while the other was noble in expres- 
sion — rather austerely so than otherwise, for it was only in social 
intercourse that it beamed with kindness and became benign. 

Each had his appropriate work and sphere, and each attracted 
appreciating and admiring friends. Together they contributed 
largely to make the church known and loved in this city, where 
they lived so long as fellow-workers, and with which they were so 



Reverend Edward Ingersoll 49 

identified that as I returned hither last evening it seemed as if the 
very streets were changed now that Ingersoll and Shelton are no 
more. 

In choosing a text I might have taken Nathaniel's eulogy, and 
apphed it to Ingersoll, for he was "without guile " ; but I thought 
rather of that one example of Holy Scripture, of one who could be 
faithful and yet give no offense to any. "Demetrius hath good 
report of all men, and of the truth itself." There was but one 
Demetrius, and our Ingersoll was like him. 

The text I have cited, however, suits the occasion better, for 
God gave him many trials, but an end so marked in its beauty that 
it seemed to be the index of his complete and upright career — 
" The end of that man is peace." And after his many sorrows, his 
discipline of years, his loss of one to whose virtues the tablet on 
these walls bears witness, and the griefs of infirmity and age, what 
a gift of God was such an end as his ! Amid the poor and needy, 
to whom he ministered so lovingly ; in that home of little children, 
whom he resembled so closely in purity of heart; — it came to pass 
that " the angel touched him about the time of the evening obla- 
tion," and so "he was not, for God took him." 

Very appropriate and beautiful memorials were passed 
by the vestry of Saint Paul's, the Board of Managers of 
the Church Home, and a sad tribute of regret from the 
vestry of Trinity. 

On the first Sunday in Lent, while old Trinity still 
wore its heavy drapery of black in memory of the late 
rector emeritus, the rector, the Reverend Doctor Van 
Bokkelen, in the course of his sermon spoke thus feel- 
ingly of him: 

The dear and Christian man whom we buried ran well his race, 
and now the prize is his. His works do follow him. Thoughts of 
these works are today in many minds. There are sweet memories 
of his words, fragrant recollections of his deeds. Could we hold 
converse with him this the first Lord's Day in the palace of the 
King, he would tell us of the rapture his completed work brings to 
his sanctified spirit, and how it yearns to have the work finished 
d 



50 History of Trinity Church 

which was left incomplete. He reviews his thirty years of labor in 
this church. He sees those whom he received into covenant with 
Christ by holy baptism, the goodly company which he marshaled 
for the laying on of apostolic hands, the great army which he ad- 
mitted to holy communion, and for whom he broke the bread of 
life. He counts them as a shepherd numbers his flock that he 
may know whether they are still safe in the fold. He thinks of 
those to whom he called, "Turn ye ; why will ye die?" but they 
gave no heed — men and women with whom he pleaded with ear- 
nestness, eloquence, and pathos, "Be ye reconciled to God!" 
What think you his earnest desire now is ? It is that you join hands 
with Jesus. 

REQUIESCAT IN PACE. 




Arthur Cleveland Coxe 



iiir liiiiiirfiiF 



Bishop Coxe 



A RTHUR CLEVELAND COXE, D. D, LL. D., 

/\ D. C. L. (Oxon.), bishop of the diocese of West- 

^ *■ ern New York, was born in Mendham, New 

Jersey, May loth, 1818. He was the son of the Reverend 

Samuel Hanson Cox, a celebrated Presbyterian divine. 

In 1820 the family moved to New York, where the 
future bishop received his early education. He was 
graduated from the University of New York in 1838, 
and passed thence to the General Theological Seminary, 
where he commenced his studies for holy orders in 1841. 

He was ordained deacon by Bishop Onderdonk, in 
Saint Paul's Chapel, New York, June 27th, 1841, and 
took charge of Saint Ann's Church, Morrisania. On 
September 25th, 1842, he was ordained to the priesthood 
by Bishop Brownell, of Connecticut; and in the same 
year took charge of Saint John's Church, Hartford, where 
he remained until 1854, when he accepted the rectorship 
of Grace Church, Baltimore, Maryland. In 1856 he 
was elected bishop of Texas, but declined. In 1863 he 
became rector of Calvary Church, New York, where he 
remained until he was elected coadjutor bishop of West- 
ern New York, in 1865. He was consecrated in Trinity 
Church, Geneva, January 4th, 1865. The bishops present 
were the right reverend doctors De Lancey, Hopkins, 
McCoskry, Horatio Potter, Odenheimer, and Talbot. On 
April 5th of the same year Bishop De Lancey died, and 
his coadjutor became the second bishop of Western New 



52 History of Trinity Church 

York. He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity 
from the University of Durham, England, and Saint 
James's College, Hagerstown, Maryland, in 1856; that 
of Sacrae Theologiae Doctor from Trinity College, Hart- 
ford, in 1868; and that of Doctor of Laws from Kenyon 
College, Gambler, Ohio, in 1868. In 1868 his diocese 
was-tdivided, and Central New York was committed to 
other hands. In 1872, the church in Hayti was placed 
in his charge. He made a visitation to the island, con- 
secrated the Church of the Holy Trinity, a memorial of 
Bishop Burgess, ordained six priests and five deacons, 
and administered the rite of confirmation to a large 
number of candidates. Bishop Coxe retained the charge 
of the Haytian church until the consecration of its own 
bishop. Doctor J. T. HoUey, in 1874. Bishop Coxe 
always took an active interest in our missions in Greece, 
and the extension of the church in Mexico. He was a 
faithful friend to Pere Hyacinthe, and took an active 
interest in the cause of the Old Catholics in Germany. 
His " Apology for the English Bible " led to the sup- 
pression of the new and crude revision of the King 
James version made at great cost by the American Bible 
Society. 

The Union Chretienne, a periodical printed in Paris in 
the interests of Gallicanism by the Abbe Guettee, pub- 
lished a series of articles from his pen on the subject of 
Anghcan orders. 

In 1869 he pubHshed an " Open Letter to Pius IX." 
in answer to the brief convoking the Vatican Council. 
This was widely translated and circulated all over Eu- 
rope. In 1872 he published in Paris his work "L'episco- 
pat de I'occident," a new presentation of the history of the 



Bishop Coxe 53 

Church of England, and in refutation of Roman CathoHc 
attacks. In 1873, in conjunction with Bishop Wilber- 
force and others, he engaged in a serial publication issued 
in Oxford in defense of Anglo-Catholic principles against 
either extreme. He sympathized with the Oxford move- 
ment so far as it moved within the bounds of Anglo- 
Catholicity, but he left it as a party after the defection of 
Doctor Newman; and in 1866 he further clearly defined 
his position by the publication of " The Criterion," which 
was republished in England. He was editor in chief of 
an American edition of the Edinburgh translation of the 
antenicene fathers. 

Among Bishop Coxe's other writings are " Sermons 
on Doctrine and Duty " (1855), " Impressions of Eng- 
land" (1856), "Thoughts on the Services" (1859), 
"Moral Reforms" (1869), "Apollos; or, The Way of 
God" (1873), " Christian Institutes" (1887), " Letters to 
Satolli " (1894). Besides these he has published a large 
number of tracts, editions, and translations of foreign 
works, sermons, letters, lectures, and pamphlets, and has 
been a constant contributor to our leading church reviews 
and magazines. 

Great as a theologian, he was perhaps still more 
widely known in the field of general literature. He was 
a poet of great ability, and his many beautiful hymns 
have given him an immortal fame. "Advent: a Mys- 
tery," "Athwold," " Athanasion, and Other Poems," 
" Hallowe'en," " The Ladye Chace," besides many occa- 
sional poems at divers times, have come from his gifted 
pen. But particularly his " Christian Ballads," have made 
his name a household word in every Christian land. 
Many there are who say the reading of these poems has 



54 History of Trinity Church 

shaped their lives and made them the churchmen they are; 
for the poetic temperament not only wins by its enthusi- 
asm but convinces by its truth. 

On Friday, January 3d, 1890, at Saint Paul's Cathe- 
dral, Buffalo, was commemorated the twenty-fifth anni- 
versary of the Bishop's consecration. The choirs of the 
several churches of the city, numbering two hundred 
white-robed choristers, rendered the music. Over eighty 
of the clergy were present, and the Right Reverend 
Henry C. Potter, D. D., bishop of New York, preached 
the sermon. On this memorable occasion the Reverend 
Doctor Rankine delivered a congratulatory address to 
the Bishop, and presented, in behalf of the clergy of the 
diocese, a pastoral staff of exquisite workmanship ; and, 
in behalf of the trustees of the De Lancey Divinity 
School and Hobart College, a rare copy of a polyglot 
Book of Common Prayer. The chancellor of the diocese, 
Judge James M. Smith, presented the Bishop a purse of 
two thousand five hundred dollars, the gift of the laymen 
of the diocese. 

As already stated, in 1868 the diocese was divided, 
and the portion ceded became the diocese of Central 
New York. That which remains is today greater, in 
number of clergy, families, and communicants, than the 
original diocese; and the value of the church property 
has vastly increased. We cannot call to mind these 
manifold blessings but with the deepest gratitude to 
Almighty God. Said Bishop Potter in his anniversary 
sermon: "The years come and go, men arise, move in 
their little sphere, and disappear. But in this diocese 
Hobart and De Lancey will never be forgotten — nay, 
nor, thank God, another ! " 




Arthur Cleveland Coxe 

iSSS 



Bishop Coxe 55 

Verily, Hobart, De Lancey, and Coxe will never be 
forgotten. And with deepest fervency of heart we say, 
" Blessed Lord, we render unto Thee high laud and 
worthy thanks; as for all Thy mercies, so especially for 
all Thou hast wrought for us through choice vessels of 
Thy grace, who have shone as lights of the world in 
their several generations, and who do now rest from 
their labors." 

We must leave the details of the clerical, as well as 
the literary, history of Bishop Coxe to receive full justice 
at the hands of his biographer. We trust ere long such 
memoirs will be published, and become the treasured 
possession, not only of his diocese, but of the church at 
large and the world of letters. 

On July 20th, 1896, the diocese of Western New 
York received the startling and afflicting news of the 
death of their beloved bishop. He had been quite ill at 
Clifton Springs, but only a day or two previous had 
written that he was much better and would soon be able 
to resume his duties. Then came the appalling message 
that we should see his face no more. The end came, as 
he himself had desired, in the midst of labors and with 
plans ready formed for renewed efforts in the cause that 
was so near his heart. 

In accordance with the notice of the standing com- 
mittee, the obsequies of our revered diocesan were ob- 
served at Trinity Church, Geneva, New York. A solemn 
procession conveyed the remains from Clifton Springs to 
Geneva. At the outskirts of the little city they were 
met by the local clergy in carriages. The procession then 
moved on to the church, while the bell solemnly tolled 
in honor of the leader who had passed away. It had 



56 History of Trinity Church 

been the desire of the Bishop that everything connected 
with the funeral services be extremely simple. He had 
specified that nothing besides the ordinary service of 
the church should be said. His wishes were carried out 
as accurately as possible. The coffin was of solid oak 
with a plain cross on the top, extending the full length 
of it. The inscription upon the plate was as follows: 

Arthur Cleveland Coxe, 
Born May ioth, 1818. 
Died July 2oth, 1896. 

While the body lay in state at the foot of the chancel 
steps, the casket was covered by a purple pall, and upon 
it at the foot lay two branches of palm, crossed, and at 
the head the Bishop's miter of purple velvet. The body 
was clad in the robes in which the Bishop had been con- 
secrated before that altar thirty-one years before. Be- 
side him was the plain black walnut staff which he had 
used from the beginning of his episcopate. The vestry of 
the church constituted themselves a guard of honor over 
the body. Two clergymen stood, one at the head, the 
other at the foot, of the bier, as watchers through the 
night. During the day the church doors were open, 
and a great throng of people of all classes, young and 
old, rich and poor, came to look for the last time upon 
the noble face of him they had so loved. 

He was laid to rest in the shadow of the church so 
dear to him. Over ninety clergymen w«re present, and 
letters of sympathy had been received from nearly every 
bishop of the American church. Nine bishops were 
present. The hymns were, "My faith looks up to thee," 
"The strife is o'er," "For all the saints who from their 



Bishop Coxe 57 

labors rest," "Hark! the sound of holy voices," "On the 
resurrection morning," and "Peace, perfect peace." 

It was decided to use in the diocese for thirty days 
the prayer composed by Bishop Coxe on the death of 
Bishop De Lancey. The clergy, vestries, and numerous 
church societies of the diocese passed beautiful and fit- 
ting resolutions as tributes to the memory of Bishop 
Coxe, and both the secular and religious press of the 
country laid their laurels at the feet of him who was not 
only one of the most conspicuous, but one of the most 
picturesque figures in the Anglican communion. Sensi- 
tive to every touch of nature, his heart responded to 
every human appeal, entering into and sharing whatever 
interested those with whom he dealt. 

The memorial sermon by Bishop Doane was preached 
in Saint Paul's Church, Buffalo, Sunday evening, October 
4th, 1 896, the text being from I. Corinthians i : 4-5 : " I 
thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of 
God which is given you by Jesus Christ; that in every 
thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in 
all knowledge." Besides the hundred clergy of the dio- 
cese, clad in their vestments and headed by the bishop 
of Albany, there were present many clergymen from 
other cities, among them the rector of Grace Church, 
Baltimore, in which Bishop Coxe is so affectionately 
remembered as former rector. Seats were reserved in 
front for all the clergy of different denominations in the 
city, and there were many to pay their respects to his 
memory. As it is impossible to give the full account 
of this service, we will merely quote the portion of 
Bishop Doane's sermon relating to Bishop Coxe's poetic 
gifts and utterances. 



58 Histoi'y of Trinity Church 

The current that set most strongly through the natural temper- 
ament of the Bishop was the poetic current, in the best sense of 
that word, and it had its spring and rise neither in Arethusa nor 
Castaly, but in "Siloa's brook, which flows fast by the oracle of 
God." 

Now, the poetic nature is not only creative, and not chiefly 
imaginative ; it is intensely the gift of the seer. Standing as Elisha 
did, before the marvelous sight of the taking away of his master, 
the question whether the double portion of that master's spirit 
should come on him turned on the single point — if he could see 
him when he was taken away. And he did see him, and therefore 
the mantle of the prophet fell on him. And it is always so. The 
seer, the man who sees what is invisible to coarser eyes, is prophet 
too. For sight not only discovers the things which are near and 
unseen to others, but widens all horizons, lifts them, enlarges them, 
carries them out and on. And when the seer speaks, he not only 
reveals, but prophesies. Eminently Bishop Coxe had this gift, for 
he was a true poet. And when he wrote " Dreamland " fifty years 
ago, he was seeing and prophesying. Whatever dreams he dreamed 
were like Jacob's, in a sleep that was pillowed upon stone, in much 
hardness and loneliness, in the sense of divine presence, and with 
the full realization of the old Homeric thought, "The dream is 
from God." We forget, who have fallen into the easy heritage 
of religious truths accepted, of ecclesiastical privileges assured, of 
the glory of Catholic theology acknowledged, and of Catholic 
worship adopted, we forget the far-sight and the foresight, the clear- 
ness of wisdom and the courage of utterance, which belonged to 
the leaders of fifty years ago. A thousand familiar and undisputed 
things today were not only disputed but denied then ; and in that 
line of men of whom Seabury and Hobart were the first, and my 
father and Bishop Whittingham their successors in the older gen- 
eration, Bishop Williams and Bishop Coxe were easily leaders in 
the next. 

Suspected, discredited, counted disloyal to the church, de- 
nounced as Romans in disguise, these men were in the advance 
guard ; they were of the hope that seemed at times forlorn. They 
were pioneers who found and cleared the way ; and we who come 
after them along a smooth and open path forget the risk and pain 
and labor with which they won our liberties. Constantly it has 
happened that the leaders of one generation became the holdbacks 



Bishop Coxe 59 

and drags of the next ; and the Bishop in his later days was play- 
ing, to a degree, the role of the men who distrusted him. But the 
priest who wrote "Dreamland," the priest who was filled with the 
beauty of holiness, of the worship and reverence due to God's 
house (into whose sanctuary I believe he never entered, when he 
could avoid it, without taking the shoes of outdoor use from off his 
feet), the priest who helped to restore the disused matins and even- 
song, who was among the first to recognize the Holy Eucharist as 
the chief act of worship, to be used at least on every Lord's Day, 
who as bishop said in his last charge to his clergy, "The New 
Testament tells us clearly to hallow the Lord's Day by the Lord's 
Supper. This is our law and our rubric, and to this reformation 
I call you all, in God's name"; the priest who was by nature 
strict in the observance of all the niceties and proprieties and 
dignities of divine ser\'ice, and all this not recently, but fifty years 
ago, is a man whom we ought to honor for his prophetic power 
of insight and utterance, for the courage of his maintained posi- 
tion in the far advance of the front rank to which the host has since 
come up. 

As an illustration of the difference between his earlier and 
later experiences, the Bishop was fond of telling a story of his 
walking, in his boyhood, to old Saint Luke's Church, New York, 
by a path which led across open fields, on a Christmas morning ; 
being especially drawn there in order that he might hear sung for 
the first time Doctor Muhlenberg's Christmas carol, "Shout the 
glad tidings, exultantly sing; Jerusalem triumphs, Messiah is 
King 1 " and counting it, as it undoubtedly was then, a rich addition 
to the very scant and poor collection of Christmas hymns. 

And while he was somewhat caustic and severe in his condem- 
nation of our present hymnal, chiefly because the General Con- 
vention decided to put it between the same covers with the Book 
of Common Prayer, he not only rejoiced, but took no little part in 
the first enlargement of our hymnology, from which, with most 
positive determination, he absolutely excluded every hymn of his 
own. I am quite clear that the last committee has been wiser than 
he in this behalf, in that we have given to the church for use in its 
treasures of sacred song many hymns of his composing. One of 
them, at least, — "Saviour, Sprinkle Many Nations," — is among the 
first of our Christian lyrics, and among the most stirring of our 
missionary hymns. 



6o History of Trinity Church 

One turns over page after page of his collection of "Christian 
Ballads," struck by the true prophetic insight of his inspiration as 
well as by the sonorous meter and rhythm of his verse. He cer- 
tainly w^as enriched in all utterance, both of the eloquence which 
means outspeaking, and the brilliant powers of the orator, and 
enriched in the utterance of true poetic gifts. 

I have spoken of the felicity of his utterance. And it will not, 
I think, seem unnatural if I seek to set some of his own jeweled 
words in the crown of honor, some fadeless bay from his laureate 
brow in the fading leaves of this wreath of brotherly affection 
which I am here to lay upon his tomb. 

As a specimen of poetical interpretation of poetry, of appreci- 
ative knowledge of nature, and its consecration, in his view of it, to 
the service of God, and of keen sympathy, almost to realism, with 
the idea and feeling of the seasons of the Christian year, nothing 
can be finer than his "Carol," whose text is the passage in the 
Song of Songs, "My beloved has gone down into his garden," 
that garden being 

" The alleys broad 
Of the Church of God, 
Where Nature is green for aye." 

He describes the complete banishment of winter from the church's 
seasons, when the flowing font 

" Still will gush 
In free, full flush 
At the cry of a little child." 

And it is a bold thought that comes to him when the hues through 
the colored windows tint it with " ruby stain " 

" Of Moses' rod 
And the Rocks of God, 
That flushed in ruddy wine." 

Really, the church's year seems more actual to him than the 
seasons of the outdoor world. 

" The gales through the woodland aisles " 

to his ear 

" Like the Lord's own organ blow "; 



Bishop Coxe 6i 



and 



" The bush in the winter-time in his greenwood walk " 

is 

" Surpliced with snows, like the bending priest 
That kneels in the church to pray." 

He describes a Christian child in the church's care in these 
words : 

" Planted by the altar's pale, 

The church, with catechising art, 
Trains to the chancel's trellised rail 
The wandering tendrils of the heart." 

His visit to lona, which he called "a Patmos of the frozen 
north," stirs in him the memory of Seabury, 

" Whose hand the rod of David's stem 
The farthest westward bore," 

"Who crossed the seas 
And brought from distant Aberdeen 
Gifts of the old Culdees "; 

and "The Blessed Island " inspires the play on names, with a word 
of truth in it, — 

" Columbia from Columba claims 
More than g^eat Colon brought." 

There are phrases of his verse which are really epigrammatic 
in their power. His description of an old-time New England 
meeting-house as 

" A pine-wood Parthenon or Pnyx, 

A hippogriff of art. 
By crude Genevan rites begot, 

Half temple, and half mart; 
A type of changing shifts, 

A hall, low roofed and tinned, 
On which a wooden Babel lifts 

Its weather-cock to wind." 

Or, in a more serious vein, in his description of Oxford as contain- 
ing 

" The cells where sages have been born 
And human lore baptized," 



62 History of Trinity Church 

What he himself described in his dedication to Doctor Hobart 
of the "Christian Ballads" as "the glistening dews of boyhood" 
never dried upon his brow. The freshness of his spirit was peren- 
nial. Within an hour of his death he was so absorbed in what his 
companion called "an illuminating conversation " on the resurrec- 
tion of the dead, that he lost all sense of time and trains, and of 
the needed nourishment of food. And to the very end what he 
called the "glow of his early vow" rested upon himUkeahalo, in 
all its warmth and brightness. 

I have not spoken of some rich utterances of the Bishop in the 
volumes which he published from time to time. I have been con- 
cerned more with the poetry of his younger days, which he called 
himself " Hymns of my Boyhood," than with the ripe beauty of the 
poems in his last volume called "The Paschal," because the earlier 
verses had in them the poetic element of prophecy. And I have 
omitted all mention of his "Thoughts on the Services," and of 
" Apollos," not from lackof appreciation, but from lack of space 
and time ; gladly acknowledging the debt that very few people owe 
to them, as introductions, the one to a knowledge of the Book of 
Common Prayer, and the other to a recognition of the place in 
Christendom which is filled by this church as being the hope and 
opportunity of Christian unity in the Catholicity of its Protestant- 
ism and the Protestantism of its Catholicity. But the very lovely 
memory of that gray summer day in Geneva last July almost 
forces me to recall what I am sure was in all our hearts and seemed 
to sound in our ears at the simple and beautiful service of his burial, 
when we laid him 

" To sleep where the church bells aye ring out." 

" Our mother the church hath never a child 

To honor before the rest, 
But she singeth the same for mighty kings 

And the veriest babe on her breast ; 
And the bishop goes down to his narrow bed 

As the plowman's child is laid, 
And alike she blesseth the dark-browed sert 

And the chief in his robe arrayed. 
She sprinkles the drops of the bright new-birth 

The same on the low and the high, 
And christens their bodies with dust to dust, 

When earth with its earth must lie. 



Bishop Coxe 63 

And wise is he in the glow of health 

Who weaveth his shroud of rest, 
And graveth it plain on his coffin-plate 

That the dead in Christ are blessed." 

By this partial quotation from the complete whole of 
the memorial sermon, we can realize the appropriateness 
of the text as applied to the character of Bishop Coxe — 
richness, utterance, knowledge. 

In the memory of his blessed " falling asleep," how 
beautiful are the words of Bishop Coxe in regard to 
the death of our beloved rector Doctor Ingersoll! Of 
both it may be said, " The angel of the Lord waited for 
them and bore them up on a shining cloud to heaven; 
and their end was peace." 



And then, said I, one thing there is 

That I of the Lord desire, 
That ever, while I on earth shall live, 

I will of the Lord require. 
That I may dwell in His temple blest 

As long as my life shall be, 
And the beauty fair of the Lord of Hosts 

In the home of His glory see. 

BISHOP COXE. 




Christ Church 

As originally designed 



Consolidation of Christ Church 
with Trinity 

IN reaching the period in the history of Trinity Parish 
when a change from their unfavorable location on 
Washington and Mohawk streets to some point up- 
town seemed imperative, a consolidation of the two 
parishes of Trinity and Christ Church was strongly 
urged; and early in 1883 the Reverend Doctor Van 
Bokkelen, rector of Trinity Church, and the Reverend 
A. Sidney Dealey, rector of Christ Church, had repeated 
conferences upon the subject. When they had formu- 
lated the plan, it was submitted to the vestries of the 
churches, and a committee from each was appointed to 
discuss the feasibility of such consolidation, and, if prac- 
ticable, the method by which it should be accomplished. 
A long and somewhat animated discussion ensued, in 
which the various newspapers of the city took such an 
active part that what at first was a matter of parish con- 
cern rapidly enlarged into what seemed to be of vital 
interest to the municipality. 

Many difficulties presented themselves to the rectors 
and vestries, some of them of an intricate legal nature. 
There was a very strong undercurrent of feeling among 
the parishioners of Christ Church against the movement, 
because a small church rarely consolidates successfully 
with a large one. The congregation was comparatively 
a small one, but its members were united and much in 
earnest in promoting the prosperity of the parish; and 



66 History of Trinity Church 

by the hearty cooperation and liberal offerings of all the 
parishioners the mortgage of ten thousand dollars was 
paid in February, 1882, and Christ Church stood free 
from debt; and on the sixteenth of February, 1882, the 
church was consecrated by the Right Reverend Arthur 
Cleveland Coxe, D. D., bishop of the diocese. The ser- 
mon on that occasion was preached by the Reverend O. 
Witherspoon, rector of Saint James's Church, Birming- 
ham, Connecticut, who had been the rector of Christ 
Church on its first organization, and who came to rejoice 
with his former parishioners in the prosperity of the 
organization of which he had witnessed the beginning. 
The Bishop also expressed to the congregation the great 
joy of his heart at this time, for it had been filled with 
anxiety, hope, and fear. 

In view of all these circumstances, it was quite nat- 
ural that the parishioners of Christ Church were opposed 
to the consolidation. They were attached to their parish, 
and felt that they had made very great sacrifices to free 
it from debt; but the position of the church was not a 
favorable one for a small parish; it was surrounded by a 
population belonging to other churches, and was shut ofil 
from participation in the growth which was taking place 
in outlying parts of the city. The influence of the Bishop 
was thrown in favor of the consolidation, and he urged 
the parish, as a duty, to sink all personal and minor 
differences and look at the matter in a broad. Christian 
spirit, and in the light of the general interest of the 
church. 

Finally, all obstacles were removed; and on June 
14th, 1884, Judge Lewis granted a decree of consolida- 
tion between Trinity and Christ Church parishes, and a 



Co7isolidation zvitJi Christ Church 67 

new corporation was organized, to be known as Trinity 
Church, Buffalo. To this Christ Church gave its prop- 
erty on Delaware Avenue, consisting of a lot eighty by 
one hundred and seventy-eight feet, and the church 
edifice, with all its other properties to a value of about 
sixty thousand dollars. It was agreed that Trinity Parish 
should purchase the adjacent lot on the north, eighty-five 
by one hundred and seventy-eight feet, and erect thereon 
a building to cost not less than seventy-five thousand 
dollars, and to accommodate not less than seven hun- 
dred and fifty persons. It was also agreed that in the 
erection of the new Trinity Church " no encumbrance of 
any kind shall be placed upon the present property 01 
Christ Church." There was also a verbal agreement that 
its church edifice should always be known as " Christ 
Chapel," as an act of courtesy and remembrance of the 
gift of the property to the new corporation. 

The wardens and vestrymen till the first election, in 
1885, were to be selected equally from Christ Church and 
Trinity. The rector was to be the Reverend Libertus 
Van Bokkelen, D. D., and the associate rector the Rev- 
erend A. Sidney Dealey of Christ Church. A building 
committee was selected from the two congregations, con- 
sisting of the two rectors, and Messrs. Rufus L. Howard, 
Leonidas Doty, Frank W. Fiske, Henry M. Watson, 
Asaph S. Bemis, Peter C. Doyle, and Samuel D. Colie. 

It was decided to build the new church upon the 
same foundation which was laid in 1869 for Christ 
Church, with the exception of the southern transept. 
Divine worship was continued by the rectors — the 
morning service at old Trinity on Washington Street, the 
evening and week-day services at Christ Church. 



68 History of Trinity CJmirch 

On Easter Day, 1885, the Reverend A. Sidney 
Dealey resigned his position as associate rector, and 
accepted the charge of Saint Luke's Church, Jamestown, 
New York. Thus the whole duty of the consolidated 
parishes devolved upon the rector of Trinity. 

The new corporation owes its present structure and 
position to the earnest and self-sacrificing work of Doctor 
Van Bokkelen. 

With the issuing of the decree of consolidation, the 
existence of Christ Church ceased, and it has no further 
history. 



Note.— It is perhaps permissible to recall to a younger generation that 
Christ Church parish was an offshoot from Saint John's Church, then situated on 
the corner of Washington and Swan streets, and was started under the rectorship 
of the Reverend Orlando Witherspoon in the year 1869. He was succeeded by 
the Reverend M. C. Hyde; and the third and last rector was the Reverend A. 
Sidney Dealey, who began his work in the church on Advent Sunday, 1879. The 
wardens at that time were Thomas Dennis and Asher P. Nichols. The vestrymen 
were William G. Fargo, Albert P. Laning, Asaph S. Bemis, James G. Forsyth, 
Samuel D.Colie, Hobart B. Loomis, C. Valette Kasson, and Bronson C. Rumsey. 
— Editor. 




Libertus Van Bokkelen 



Reverend Libertus Van Bokkelen 

1874-1886 

ON the resignation of Doctor Ingersoll, the Rev- 
erend Libertus Van Bokkelen, D. D., LL. D., 
was called to the rectorship of Trinity Church. 
He brought to his new work a shrewd business capacity, 
a fund of enthusiasm and energy, great tact in dealing 
with men, and an unusual ability in the pulpit. Add to 
this a sincere and heartfelt desire to promote the inter- 
ests of the church and the great truths of the Christian 
religion, and we can see he was well fitted for the crisis 
in which he found himself placed. 

He was born in the city of New York, July 22, 181 5, 
the second in a family of thirteen children — eleven sons 
and two daughters — all of whom reached adult years. 
His paternal grandfather, a physician, came from Hol- 
land in 1796, being exiled by the French government 
because of his adherence to the House of Orange. He 
brought with him two sons, the youngest of whom, the 
father of the subject of this sketch, was educated in New 
York as a merchant. Dr. Van Bokkelen's maternal grand- 
father was a native of Wales, and thus the blood of two 
sturdy nations was blended in his veins. 

From the age of nine he was educated at boarding 
schools. The last was the Flushing Institute, under Rev- 
erend Doctor Muhlenberg, whose influence seemed to 
shape his whole course in life, and to whose memory he 
69 



70 History of Trinity Church 

was devoted. He was well qualified to be a teacher, as up 
to the year 1864, when he was forty-nine years of age, 
he had never lived outside of a school or college, hav- 
ing been either pupil, tutor, professor, or principal during 
these years. In 1842 he took priest's orders, and for some 
years combined the ministry with educational work. In 
1845, by invitation of Bishop Whittingham, he went to 
Catonsville, Maryland, where he founded the institution 
known as Saint Timothy's Hall, which achieved great suc- 
cess. It accommodated one hundred and fifty students, 
who were organized under military discipline. To this 
institution the legislature of Maryland granted a liberal 
charter with all the usual collegiate power in conferring 
degrees. This success gave Doctor Van Bokkelen a wide 
reputation, and he was not only honored in his own state, 
but received invitations to various other parts of the 
Union to establish schools and collegiate institutions. 

The Civil War broke up his associations in Maryland, 
as has been before alluded to. During the war Doctor 
Van Bokkelen was an ardent, active, and aggressive Union 
man, and did all he could to sustain the loyal sentiment 
of the community in which he resided. He was an origi- 
nal Abolitionist, and looked back with sincerest satisfac- 
tion to his early interest in that cause ; and in speaking 
of it once said, " Thank God, I have lived to see slavery 
abolished, and America the home of the free ! " 

He received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws 
from La Fayette and Marshall College, Pennsylvania. 

At length, with great regret on his own part, and that 
of the community of Catonsville, he decided to remove 
to Mount Morris, in western New York, where he re- 
mained until called to the rectorship of Trinity Church. 



Reverend Libei'tus Van Bokkelen 7 1 

He was married in 1850 to Amelia, youngest daughter 
of John Netterville D'Arcy, formerly a leading mer- 
chant of Baltimore, and had a family of five children. 
At the time of his removal to Buffalo, his wife was in 
delicate health, and died a few years later. The marked 
characteristic of the family was their loyal and affection- 
ate devotion to each other. The elder daughter married 
and went to Baltimore; the younger died quite suddenly 
before her invalid mother; and since the Doctor's death 
his son Libertus, who had been ordained a priest in the 
church, has also passed to his reward. Death and sorrow 
have broken up the once happy family circle, and the echo 
of its sadness still lingers with those who remain. 

Doctor Van Bokkelen was rector of Trinity Church 
for twelve years, and during that time added materially 
to its prosperity by his untiring energy. From the time 
of his assuming the rectorate his mind was fixed on 
bringing about the consolidation of the two parishes of 
Trinity and Christ, which had already been attempted 
without success. In an eloquent sermon which he 
preached on this subject, he closed with these words : 
" In the name of the Lord, go forward ! Halt no longer 
between two opinions. What thy hand findeth to do, 
do it with all thy might. Count it a privilege to be- 
gin this work, so often thought of, so earnestly desired, 
so long delayed. It will give you great joy; it will im- 
part fresh life and vigor to the whole church in Buffalo; 
it will arouse enthusiasm which will command success." 

Happily this wise project was at length fulfilled, and 
Doctor Van Bokkelen, while attending to his daily parish 
duties, added to them his consultations with the vestry 
on the building of the new church. The ladies of the 



72 History of Trinity Church 

parish formed a furnishing society, worked long and 
faithfully, and earned by their sales sufficient money to 
carpet and cushion the church, to pay for the large rose 
window which was put in by La Farge, and to do much 
towards the completing of the guild rooms. All the 
societies of the church were in active working condition. 
The mothers' meetings, held Wednesday evenings in the 
Sunday school room, usually comprised from forty to 
sixty women and a few grown boys and girls. After a 
prayer and the singing of hymns, the reading of some 
interesting book closed the service. There was also a 
kitchen garden class. A cooperative society for the help 
of the poor in connection with the Charity Organization 
Society was started. 

The Sunday school was prosperous, and the congrega- 
tion seemed at last roused to interest and enthusiasm in 
church work. The sale of the old church property was 
made to the Liedertafel Musical Association, and the pur- 
chase of the new lot adjoining Christ Chapel on Delaware 
Avenue having been satisfactorily accomplished, rector, 
congregation, and workmen were all busily preparing for 
the removal. 

On July 22d, 1884, the corner stone of new Trinity 
Church was laid. The lot on Delaware Avenue adjoin- 
ing Christ Church had been secured at the price of six- 
teen thousand dollars, and the same foundation was used 
that years before had been begun for Christ Church. 
The plans for this church, made in 1869 by Arthur Oilman, 
of New York, were adapted to the new requirements by 
Mr. Cyrus K. Porter; and Messrs. Charles Berrick and 
John Briggs, contractors, were engaged to construct the 
building. The ceremony of laying the corner stone was 



Revereiid Liber tus Van Bokkelen 7 3 

participated in by Bishop Coxe, twenty clergymen, the 
surpliced choirs of Trinity and Saint Luke's, the vestries 
of Trinity and Christ churches, and the members of the 
building committee; and witnessed by a congregation of 
several hundred people. At five o'clock the imposing 
ecclesiastical procession issued from the chapel and 
proceeded to the platform erected for the ceremonial. 
After an appropriate service the Reverend A. Sidney 
Dealey read a list of the articles deposited in the box 
beneath the corner stone. There was a Hebrew Bible, 
procured by Doctor Van Bokkelen, a book of common 
prayer and a hymnal owned by Doctor Ingersoll, and 
also the last sermon preached by him as rector of old 
Trinity, April, 1874. When the stone had been lowered 
into its place, the bishop, clergy, and choristers returned 
to the chapel, where the ritual was concluded with 
prayer and benediction. 

A new organ had been placed in the old church, 
which was ultimately removed to the new one. A 
plan for choral singing was made by the Doctor, and 
boys were put in training for it. Through his influence, 
also, many memorial gifts were promised. All of the 
chancel windows were to be memorials, and many of those 
in the nave were engaged for the same purpose. It is 
greatly to be regretted that the original plan of the 
building, as made by the vestry of Christ Church, could 
not have been carried out; but the earnest desire of the 
rector to take his leave from the new church, and the 
funds not being sufficient to perfect the original plans, it 
was decided to omit the clerestory and to leave the tower 
for future consideration. The new church, though artis- 
tically lacking much in these respects, has a most lux- 



74 History of Trinity Church 

urious and pleasing interior, its large chancel and wide 
aisles being particularly adapted to all the needs of a 
large congregation. 

We find in one of the newspapers of this date a para- 
graph from Bishop Coxe, which seems to embody all the 
facts then under consideration, and will take the history 
of the church on towards completion : 

The new church of Trinity Parish in this city is rapidly com- 
ing to a state of completion ; but owing to the necessary delay of 
the decorative work it will not be ready for divine service (nor per- 
haps is it desirable that it should be so) until Easter. That will be 
the appropriate day for such a joyful event, and will associate it 
with the rare occasion of an Easter falling on its lowest possible 
limit, the twenty-fifth of April. 

The Reverend Doctor Van Bokkelen, to whose indefatigable 
labors this consummation is primarily due, has from the beginning 
of this enterprise kept before his congregation the fact that he con- 
siders it not only the crowning of his work in Buffalo, but the nat- 
ural conclusion of his work in the parish. "I wish its future," he has 
often said, " to be intrusted to a younger clergyman, and one whose 
full strength and prime can be devoted to its development under its 
new conditions and enlarged opportunity for usefulness." 

According to his already avowed intention, therefore, 
the Doctor submitted his formal resignation to the ves- 
try, to take effect after Easter, 1886. 

Doctor Van Bokkelen was a very manly sort of man, 
full of the courage of a great many honest convictions 
with regard to his duty to the state as well as the church, 
and consequently did not escape criticism ; but he achieved 
a great work for Trinity Church, and should be honored 
for it. 

Many joyous as well as sad recollections cluster about 
old Trinity's venerable edifice. Some notable weddings, 



Reverend Liber tiis Van Bokkelen 75 

beautiful in the grouping of fair young faces, stand forth 
in memory's picture. That of Miss Jennie Gary to Law- 
rence Rumsey formed a galaxy of beauty; and one of its 
touching features was the assembling in the vestibule of 
the bride's infant scholars of the Sunday school, who 
strewed flowers in her pathway as she passed to the car- 
riage. 

The wedding of Miss Anna Dobbins to Mr. James 
P. White was a notably brilliant event. The celebrated 
singer Clara Louise Kellogg was a bridesmaid. Many 
more such pictures hang on memory's wall which we 
would gladly photograph for the reader. 

Among the shadows rests the memory of a most at- 
tractive young couple but a few years married, who were 
happy in their lives and in their death were not divided 
— Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Pease, who met their fate to- 
gether, February 5th, 1871, in a terrible railroad accident 
on the Hudson River. The two coffins rested side by 
side in front of the altar where as children they had 
knelt. The service was sad beyond expression, and the 
sympathetic audience was deeply affected by it. 

Another victim of the same disaster — also a member 
of Trinity Church — was Mr. Rollin Germain, son-in-law 
of Judge Philander Bennett. The funeral services were 
conducted by the Reverend Doctor IngersoU from the 
family residence. The pallbearers were Messrs. Henry W. 
Rogers, James O. Putnam, Benjamin H. Austin, junior, 
James D. Sawyer, Jesse C. Dann, Samuel G. Cornell, 
Robert Dunbar, and William Levering. Mr. Germain was 
a well-known and much respected citizen, a lawyer by pro- 
fession, and with a mechanical genius which had obtained a 
high reputation. Two of the fastest gunboats belonging 



'](i History of Trinity Church 

to the American navy at that time, the Avenger and the 
Vindicator, were built by him on a plan of his own. Mr. 
Germain had a very remarkable dream a short time 
before his death, which seemed to impress him as a 
premonition, and which he spoke of to several friends. 
After his death some lines were found in his trunk de- 
scribing this experience in rhyme, in which the horrors 
of water and fire both appear. It was published as a 
remarkable fact in some of the journals of the day. 
Several other well-known persons from Buffalo were 
among the sufferers, but those mentioned were the only 
ones members of Trinity. The clergymen of the different 
churches of the city all dwelt upon the terrible disaster 
in their sermons of the Sunday following. 

Perhaps in one sense sadder still was the memorial 
service for Mary Knowlton Mixer, who met a similar 
fate at Ashtabula. The choir of Saint Paul's Church 
united with that of Trinity to mourn one of whom Doctor 
Shelton spoke as "the sweet singer of our Israel," and 
together the two choirs sang the service. Miss Underbill, 
the soprano, gave Mendelssohn's " Song of Parting," the 
words of which were the last ever sung by Miss Mixer. 

"Calmly the waves of ocean roll 
Over my fainting, fleeting soul, 
Parting earth's friendships and rending in twain 
Hearts that will soon be united again 
On heaven's celestial plain. 

Swiftly before a purer day. 

Fade now yon golden stars away ; 

Lo ! realms of brightness now burst on my sight, 

Fast I am speeding from regions of night 

To heaven's eternal light." 



Reverend Liber his Van Bokkelen 7 7 

The Reverend Doctor Van Bokkelen's sermon was 
most feeling and appropriate, and kind hearts and loving 
hands brought to the altar lilies and roses for remem- 
brance. 

But how can we even name either in joy or in sorrow 
the many notable events which have occurred within 
these walls ! To pass down the aisles and count the 
missing faces of those whose counsels and support have 
led the church through the sixty years of its existence 
would be to record many of the most influential names of 
Buffalo, and, alas ! to recall the tragedies of many homes. 

The church which we have builded stands today 
Memorial of those far, far away. 
Whose haunting presence still so sweet, so strong, 
Through its broad aisles and graceful arches throng, 
And solemn melodies repeat the thought 
Our love and faith together have inwrought, 
Moving each soul with reverence to pray 
As the uplifted cross goes on its way. 

The last Easter day (1885) which the congregation 
passed in the old church was a memorable one. A no- 
tice had been printed in the daily papers as follows : 

It is desired that every member of the parish will take part in 
the farewell services, and will aid the committee of decoration by 
contributing money, flowers, or personal assistance, to make this 
shrine of many memories beautiful for the last time. 

The newspaper account of the decorations says: 

The display of flowers at Trinity Episcopal Church is immense. 
Every window of this old-fashioned sanctuary is a miniature flower 
garden. The chancel is literally packed with flowers. The font 



78 History of Trmity Church 

seems to stand in the midst of a bouquet of calla lilies. The altar 
is festooned with smilax and decorated with choice roses and car- 
nations. When the clusters of candles, which are on and around 
the altar, are lighted at this morning's service, the sight cannot be 
other than exceedingly beautiful. As one looked upon the scene 
yesterday afternoon, he fancied that the ladies must have felt much 
affection for the church in which they have kept so many pious 
Easters, and were determined that it should put on its most beauti- 
ful garments now that they do not expect to keep another Easter 
within its walls. The decorations were under the direction of Mrs. 
S. F. Mixer, who was assisted by a dozen or two of the ladies. 

It was decided to remove from the old place of wor- 
ship July 5th, 1885, and to hold service in Christ Chapel 
until the following Easter Day, when the new church 
would be formally opened. The last services were solemn 
and impressive. Loving hands decorated the old church 
with the tenderness, and with much of the same sorrow, 
as they would have laid flowers upon a grave. The 
windows were banked with wild and cultivated flowers; 
the altar was a mass of pond lilies, roses, and greenery. 
The lectern was draped with green, and the chancel steps 
were bordered with potted plants and large vases of flow- 
ers placed en masse. The baptismal font was filled with 
fragrant blossoms, and over the chancel hung a floral tri- 
angle (the emblem of Trinity) bearing the dates 1836- 
1885, and the inscription "Our Sacred Dead." Most of 
the clergymen of the city were present. 

We have space for only a portion of the eloquent ser- 
mon of Bishop Coxe, from the text in Ecclesiastes, "To 
every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose 
under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; 
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is 
planted." 



Reverend Libertus Van Bokkelen 79 

I envy not the feelings of any man capable of reflection on the 
histories summed up in a moment like this who does not deeply 
feel that it is a solemn thing to hear and to join in these offices with- 
in these walls for the last time. To me, for obvious reasons, noth- 
ing presents itself with more solemnity than the scene which imag- 
ination conjures up upon that nineteenth day of January, 1843, when 
the work began within these walls. I seem to see the noble figure, the 
splendid presence, of my saintly predecessor, and to hear the voice 
with which at yonder door he began the solemn office of the church, 
the ministration of consecration of these walls. Nay, I seem to see 
him as when I first beheld him in the robes of his episcopate, goodly, 
and among many brethren chief, reciting those splendid words ot 
the psalmist, "Lift up your heads, O ye gates ; and be ye lift up, ye 
everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in." 

What he thus came to plant, after grafting the vigorous shoot 
and bearing much fruit to these many years, it is my humble and in 
some sense painful duty to pluck up. Painful it would be beyond 
everything, were it not for the thought that in plucking this up I 
merely carry on the work which he then began, and which it would 
have warmed his noble heart to foresee, these walls giving place to 
nobler walls, enlarging the place of the habitation of this congrega- 
tion, and effecting a transference well worthy to correspond with the 
closing collect of consecration, that there "the worship of God may 
be continued throughout all generations." 

This momentary retrospect makes exceedingly pointed the lan- 
guage which introduces the text, "For everything there is a season." 
We are invited to reflect for a moment on the generation that has 
been born, and the generation that has passed away since this work 
began. The elders from time to time die ; another generation has 
found "time to be born," and children of the third generation are 
here today joining in this solemnity as those who will tell a genera- 
tion yet to come, and in the next century, the history of this day and 
what they remember of the old Trinity Church. "A time to be 
bom, and a time to die !" Yes, I suppose that all those who ac- 
companied the Bishop in consecrating this place — I mean as rever- 
end brethren, who then in goodly array entered with him into the 
solemnity of that occasion — have passed away. Surely none remain 
of those who were then resident in the city, and perhaps none who 
were then part of the clergy of his diocese. We look back, then, on 
our predecessors to the silent tomb. We are assembled here today 
in recognition of the fact given in the text. 



8o History of Trinity Church 

These walls were reared in the appointed time. It was a time 
when the congregation was feeble and the people were not wealthy ; 
it was a time when they were young and energetic and active, and 
ready to make a beginning. Then they planted, and the building 
has grown and has borne its increase. Oh, how solemn is the in- 
quiry, In what proportion have we helped in that increase ? 

In conclusion the Bishop implored his brethren enter- 
ing the place of the Lord to discharge well their tremen- 
dous responsibilities in this regard for the glory of God. 
In the different stages of his own personal history he had 
always found something intensely solemn in the closing 
up of any relation, — leaving the home of his boyhood and 
the watchful care of father and mother to enter college 
life; or, again, leaving college for manhood's duties, or the 
city of his birth, or the winding up of a ministry. 

"And now," said he, "the lengthening shadows of 
life's evening are sailing over me and I must reflect how 
soon the great close must come." 

The clergy, headed by the Bishop, then left the chan- 
cel and proceeded to the vestibule, returning as the Bishop 
read the ninetieth psalm, while the congregation joined 
responsively. Prayers having been offered, the Bishop 
read the formal document, signed with his own seal, de- 
claring the secularization of the building and its release 
from canonical jurisdiction. The excellent musical part 
of the service included the Cantata Domine in E, by 
Buck, Benedicite, chant, hymn iii, and a fine offertory 
anthem, the "Pilgrim's March," from "Tannhauser." 
Hymn 297, sung to the tune of Old Hundred, was gener- 
ally participated in by the large congregation. The 
Nunc Dimittis was solemnly sung by the quartet, and 
then the congregation passed out for the last time, 



Reverend Libcrtus Van Bokkclen 8i 

while the organ played a march from Gounod's " Ro- 
maine." It was an impressive service, long to be remem- 
bered in the annals of the Episcopal churches of Buffalo. 
The farewell words of Doctor Van Bokkelen to his 
congregation were preached in Trinity Chapel, Easter 
even, 1886, from the comforting words of the Savior 
according to Saint John, " And I, if I be lifted up from 
the earth, will draw all men unto me." The opening sen- 
tences of the sermon were an exposition of the text as 
suitable to the solemn incidents of the Savior's bitter 
passion and precious death. The concluding part di- 
rected the attention of the congregation to the three 
crosses which were erected on Calvary more than eight- 
een centuries ago, and concluded with an earnest appeal 
to his parishioners to choose the right way and accept 
salvation, that life might be happy, death glorious, and 
eternity a season of everlasting joyfulness. Before the 
closing benediction the retiring rector advanced towards 
the coneresration and said: 



I have preached to you, my friends, my last sermon, and I have 
a few words to say. 

First : I wish to thank all those of this congregation who have 
by word or deed shown me any kindness. I wish to thank all of 
those who by their thoughtfulness have made any member of my 
now diminished household happy. Those acts I will always bear 
in kindly remembrance, while those who have extended them to 
me and mine will always be remembered as my friends. May God 
reward you for those good deeds a hundredfold. 

Second : I wish to say that my experience as rector of the 
church in connection with the choir, which has so important a part 
in these services, has been not only most agreeable but somewhat 
peculiar. You are accustomed to hear that discord often comes 
into a church through the choir. It has never been so during my 
twelve years' rectorship. Those who have been selected to sing 
f 



82 History of Trinity Church 

praises of Almighty God seem to have realized that they were 
engaged in a solemn and pious duty. Harmony and peace always 
prevailed, and I have found not only comfort, but joy in knowing 
that out of clean hearts and right minds this beautiful portion of our 
service was being rendered. I wish to thank the members of the 
choir, and especially him who has been connected with the choir 
as leader during my entire rectorship [Charles F. Hager], to whose 
amiability and earnestness I am largely indebted. 

Third : I wish to thank most heartily those ladies of the con- 
gregation who have been members of the Parish Aid Society, and 
have helped me in my work among the poor. Most faithfully have 
they labored, and through their diligence and kindness I have 
been able to make many a poor home comfortable, to clothe many 
children, and to increase the joys of many a poor mother. You, 
ladies, have always been ready to follow my guidance in the distri- 
bution of your alms, and through you Trinity Church has a loving 
name and a sweet fragrance in the homes of the poor. Thus you 
have strengthened and encouraged your pastor. Through your 
missionary organization you have sent supplies to distant homes 
of those who are laboring in the poor parishes of our church, and 
have made glad many households of faithful servants of the Lord, 
otherwise but scantily provided for. The hours passed with you 
while at work will always be fresh in my memory ; and may God 
make the recollection of them to you as to me. 

Asking the divine blessing on you all, I have spoken my last 
word. 

In his many notable sermons, in his public addresses 
connected with various questions of the day, in his inter- 
course with his brethren of the clergy, Doctor Van Bok- 
kelen always won golden opinions. Liberal in his views, 
generous in his impulses, in sympathy with all efforts to 
improve and benefit humanity, he laid down his work 
with honor to himself and the respect of the whole 
community. 




■ IK* *5„ 



Old Trinity 



An Easter Day Service 

March 28, 1880 

WE give below a small portion of a very elabo- 
rate description of the church decorations on 
this occasion, taken from the Buffalo Coiirier 
of March 29, 1880. The principal event of the day was 
the dedication of the ewer and font cover, on which are 
inscribed the names of sixty children who had been bap- 
tized by Doctor Van Bokkelen, The grown-up children 
may be pleased to see their names so early associated 
with works of devotion and charity. The rosebuds 
which were presented to the congregation were from the 
greenhouse of the late John A. Mixer of Forestville, 
Chautauqua County, whose heart and hand were ever 
open to cheer and bless. 

The floral decorations at old Trinity were of the most elaborate 
character, and during its long and eventful existence this ancient 
edifice never looked lovelier. In fact, the display of rare flowers, 
and the exquisite blending of buds and blossoms, together with 
smilax, ivy, and evergreens, quite surpassed all previous efforts. 

Immediately on entering the church the worshiper was sur- 
prised to find that the decorations began in the vestibule. At the 
base of the stairs leading to the gallery, on either side, two huge 
banks of potted plants were arranged in a graceful manner. These 
banks of plants formed an appropriate background for the eight 
little girls, four on either side, who stood at white cloth-covered 
tables, and presented to every person who entered the church a 
little boutonniere composed of a rosebud, a carnation, and a piece 
of evergreen. The rosebud is symbolical of the resurrection, and 

83 



84 History of Trmity Church 

the evergreen is a symbol of immortality. This is a custom of the 
Greek Church on Easter Day festivals, and is the first occasion on 
which the custom has been introduced in the city. It was prettily 
done, and when the church was filled by the congregation, each 
one wearing a symbol on his breast, the sight was an interesting 
one. 

The congregation was very large, every seat being occupied, 
while many, being unable to obtain accommodation, were obliged 
to seek other houses of worship. The entire service was conducted 
by the rector, Reverend L. Van Bokkelen, D. D., who preached a 
sermon and subsequently administered the holy communion to a 
great number of communicants. 

As has been the custom for several years, the ten windows 
were transformed into objects of great beauty by being filled with 
flowering plants and curtained with smilax and ivy. The chande- 
liers, pillars of the chancel, front of the organ gallery, and, in fact, 
every available point in the church, were bright with color, and the 
altar was a bank of flowers. Numerous memorial pieces lent their 
beauty and sacredness to the scene. 

The solid oaken cover to the font, together with the polished 
brass baptismal ewer and baptismal bowl of silver, were presented 
to the church yesterday morning by sixty children of the parish who 
have been baptized by the present rector. The silver baptismal 
bowl within the font was a memorial of Louise White, and was ap- 
propriately engraved. During the morning service these articles of 
ecclesiastical furniture were formally presented to the congregation 
by the rector as the gift of the lambs of the flock, with an expres- 
sion of the hope that they would not only equal, but surpass the 
zeal of their parents in their efforts to make Trinity Parish not only 
useful to its own members, but to every one who finds a home in 
the city of Buffalo, An appropriate prayer of dedication of the 
gift was offered, and a prayer for the children of the church was also 
given. On the brass mountings of the oaken cover the names of 
the sixty little people were handsomely engraved and are as fol- 
lows : Emily Seymour Coit, JuHa Townsend Coit, Charles Town- 
send Coit, Edward Movius Sicard, Josephine Hunt Sicard, James 
Cleveland Fowler, Henry Silas Fowler, Amelia Blanchard HuflT, 
James Whitford Huff", Arnold Beach Watson, Charlotte Miriam 
Kip, Frances Anne Kip, Ehzabeth Wilkes Wilkeson, Kate Wilke- 
son, Evelyn Rumsey, Julia Cary, Sarah Cary, Florence Louise De 



An Easter Day Service 85 

Laney, Frances Duren De Laney, Sherman Jewett Williams, Marie 
Louisa Howard, IMarion Spaulding, Louise Holbrook Foster, 
Charlotte Blossom, Robert Pliny Hayes, Francis John Tyler, Mil- 
dred Martha Gratvvick, Edna Granger, Clark Potter Read, John 
Henry Vought, Gibson Tenny Williams, Margaret Turner Williams, 
Lombard Williams, Martha Tenny Williams, Lilian Fairchild, 
Frank Currier Perew, Alice Sophia Perevv, Robert Jackman Perew, 
Grace Albertine Perew, Manson Loring Fiske, Harold Spaulding 
Sidway, Clarence Spaulding Sidway, Frank St. John Sidway, Edith 
Sidway, Clarence Alexis Evstaphieve, Harrison Williams, Mary 
Stedman Williams, Gordon Williams, Lauren Woodruff Winslow, 
Caroline Grandy Winslow, Seymour Penfield White, Louise White, 
James Piatt White, Mar>' Louise Winslow, Henrj' Clark Winslow, 
Gertrude Laverack, Howard Cowing Laverack, William Harold 
Laverack, Stephen Button Clarke, Charles Button Clarke, Rodney 
Bennis Hall, Hattie Gertrude Mason, Ernest Miner Fowler. 

The music was the best ever given at an Easter festival at 
Trinity Church, each member of the quartet and choir sustaining 
their parts in admirable style. It was solid church music, enthusi- 
astically rendered without any attempt to exhibit the talent of any 
solo performer. 

The choral service took place at half past three o'clock, and 
was largely attended. The Sunday school entered the church in 
procession, each class carrying its own banner and singing, "On- 
ward, Christian Soldiers." The regular service then proceeded, 
and consisted of Easter carols by the Sunday school and choir. 
The children of the Sunday school are all counted members of the 
choir, and are regularly trained to sing the musical parts of the ser- 
vice by members of the congregation who wish to bring about the 
custom of congregational singing. 

Buring the service an offering was made for the fund to endow 
a cot for a sick child in the General Hospital. Boctor Van Bokke- 
len explained the purpose of the endowment and said that the 
children had already raised seven hundred dollars, which is now 
drawing interest. It is hoped that the fund can be increased to 
two thousand dollars, which upon interest will be sufficient to pro- 
vide for the requirements of the cot. The cot is intended to be 
used for any child not afflicted with chronic and incurable disease, 
and is for the treatment of indigent sick children. The prospects 
are indeed favorable that the plan will succeed. 



'Tis raised in beauty from the dust, 

And 'tis a goodly pile ! 
So takes our infant church, I trust. 

Her own true stamp and style. 
As birds put forth their own attire. 

As shells o'er sea-nymphs grow, 
'Tis ours — nave, chancel, aisle, and spire. 

And not a borrowed show. 

BISHOP COXE. 



^ 








i 


i^^\ 



Francis Lobdell 



Reverend Francis Lobdell 



WITH the settlement of Trinity congregation in 
its new edifice, and the acceptance of its rec- 
torship by Doctor Francis Lobdell, a new era 
of prosperity dawned upon the parish. The women of 
the parish had worked nobly to provide means for fur- 
nishing the church; the location made it central for the 
majority of its members; and the relations between the 
two consolidated parishes made the union advantageous 
to both. 

Four years later, on the death of Mrs. James McCredie, 
it was found that she had bequeathed her beautiful resi- 
dence on Delaware Avenue, within a few doors of Trinity 
Church, to her beloved parish. Thus through her de- 
voted love and generosity Trinity Parish owns a hand- 
some rectory; and our dear rector and his interesting 
family have a permanent home among us, in one of the 
most convenient and desirable quarters of the city. 

The tenth anniversary of Doctor Lobdell's recto rate 
occurred recently, and we have obtained his permission 
to add to our records the sermon he preached on that 
occasion, realizing that it would be the best and most 
complete history that could be given of the church's pro- 
gress in the last ten years, for the prosperity of which we 
have great cause for thankfulness. 



88 History of Trinity CJmrch 

Tenth Anniversary Sermon '•'' 

They dwelled there about ten years. — Ruth i: 4. 

Ten years: the tenth of a century: one sixth of the 
years of the history of this parish! Ten circuits of the 
Church's order from Advent to Advent! Each of us ten 
years older, and ten years nearer our eternal home! In- 
fants whom I baptized are almost ready for confirmation. 
Children have grown up to manhood and womanhood, 
and the effects of age are seen in those who ten years 
ago were in the prime of life. Change has come over us 
all. What has it wrought in us? 

Early in January, 1887, Bishop Coxe wrote to me ask- 
ing if I would accept the rectorship of this parish. He 
said he was to be in New York within a week, and re- 
quested me to meet him at his hotel to confer on the 
subject. I met him according to appointment and he 
told me all about the parish, its needs, its embarrass- 
ments, and its prospects — and urged me to give the sub- 
ject earnest and prayerful consideration. He expressed 
a strong personal desire to have me near him, kindly 
telling me that over and above any influence I might 
have in the parish, he wanted me to help him bear the 
burdens which, on account of advancing age, were be- 
coming oppressive. 

I may be permitted here to say that this was the atti- 
tude of the Bishop towards me to the day of his death. 
Our relations were most cordial and affectionate. He 



* The rector has yielded to the request of members of the vestry and congre- 
gation that this historical sketch be printed as it was delivered, without the elimi- 
nation of personal allusions which will not interest those who are not connected 
with the parish. — F. L. 



Reverend Francis Lob dell 89 

made me his confidential friend. It was only to please 
him, and to be of some help to him, that I accepted the 
office of archdeacon which he conferred upon me. This 
was his parish church; and when the active duties of his 
busy life did not call him elsewhere, he was with us in 
the congregation or in the chancel. For many years it 
was his custom to give us a series of lectures during 
Lent, and we cannot realize that we have listened to his 
words of wisdom and instruction for the last time. Bishop 
Coxe was one of the most illustrious men in the Ameri- 
can Church. As a scholar he had few superiors. His 
poetic gift, his polished courtesy and perfect rhetoric, his 
zealous and intelligent defense of Catholic principles, his 
personal grace and commanding presence, made up a 
grand personality, which will leave its impression on all 
who knew him. 

In my interview with the Bishop in New York, I told 
him I could give no definite reply to his proposition, nor 
could I have any communication with the vestry, until I 
had visited Buffalo and had made myself familiar with 
the condition of the parish. He kindly invited me to 
come here as his gue.st as soon as possible. I left New 
York for this city on the sixteenth of January, 1887, and 
was with the Bishop three days, when he gave up his en- 
tire time to the object which had brought me to the See 
House. 

I shall never forget my first visit to the church with 
the Bishop. It was not its beauty and attractiveness that 
impressed me. It was the Bishop himself. We entered 
yonder door and walked down the aisle directly to the 
altar, where the good Bishop said, "Before we look at 
the church, or say anything more about your coming 



90 History of Trinity Church 

here, let us kneel down before the altar and ask God's 
direction and blessing." We knelt down; and the Bishop, 
taking my hand in his, offered one of the most tender, 
simple, and trustful prayers I ever heard. We both felt 
that, whatever the decision might be, we should be di- 
vinely guided; and I believe we were. 

I had met several members of the congregation, but 
I desired to get some information concerning the parish, 
its standing in the community, its field of usefulness, and 
its general outlook from persons who were not connected 
with it. The only man in Buffalo, except the Bishop, 
with whom I was acquainted was an elder in a Presby- 
terian church. To him, therefore, I went, and requested 
him to tell me the very worst things he knew about 
Trinity Church. This, very much condensed, was his 
reply: "There are many excellent, devoted. Christian 
people connected with the parish, but it has a debt of 
about ^50,000, a7id they will never pay it. They prefer 
to pay the interest, and keep the principal in their 
pockets." 

On the evening of the eighteenth of January I con- 
sented to meet the vestry, who told me, as explicitly as 
they could tell a stranger, the exact condition of the 
parish. They did not mean to keep anything back, and 
yet the brighter side was so bright that it made the darker 
side somewhat obscure. They told me that the parish 
had a debt of nearly ^50,000, but that they were able to 
pay it, and would pay it as soon as possible. That prom- 
ise, from such men, was all I needed. I trusted them, and 
they trusted me. 

The two wardens of that vestry were R. L. Howard 
and Thomas Dennis. The vestrymen were Nathaniel 



Reverend Francis Lobdell 91 

Rochester, Charles H. Utley, William Laverack, Doctor 
M. B. Fohvell, Peter C. Doyle, William H. Gratwick, 
Hobart B. Loomis, and Ensign Bennett. Of these ten 
only fotir are now living. On the death of Mr. Dennis, 
David P. Dobbins was elected to succeed him, and he 
too, has been called to his reward. I have buried seven 
members of the vestry in the last ten years.* 

The result of the conference with the vestry was my 
acceptance of the rectorship of the parish; but as Lent 
was approaching, I felt that I could not leave my con- 
gregation in New York before Easter: but I never made 
a more unfortunate mistake; the intervening ten weeks 
were weeks of purgatory to rector and people, the pain 
of the separation being so prolonged. In the meantime 
I visited this parish and officiated on two Sundays, and 
was welcomed on a Saturday evening at a most delight- 
ful reception given by one of our neighboring parish- 
ioners. 

On Thursday, the fourteenth of April, I removed to 
Buffalo. On the seventeenth, the Sunday after Easter, 
I regularly entered upon my duties as rector; and the 
vested choir sang for the first time on that day. 

I wish I could speak of these things without any 
reference to myself, but as my life for the last ten years 
has been a part of the history of the parish, it is impos- 
sible to refer to it without alluding to my connection 
with it; and I am sure you will pardon what is meant to 
be as far as possible from egotism. 

The confidence which the vestry and the congrega- 
tion have manifested towards the rector during these ten 



* Since the above was written, another member of the vestry, Mr. Edmond W. 
Granger, has been removed by death. 



92 History of Trinity Church 

years was exhibited by the senior warden the first time I 
officiated here. When he came to the vestry room 
before the service to greet me, I said to him, " I am 
entirely unfamihar with the way the service has been 
conducted here, and would like to know what you are 
accustomed to." His reply was, " Conduct the service 
in your own way, and it will meet with our hearty ap- 
probation." From that day to this the same spirit has 
been exhibited, and it has made me all the more careful 
about the introduction of changes in the service. I 
decided that no change whatever should be made for an 
entire year. 

Before I came here one of the vestrymen wrote me 
that he had ordered a processional cross to be made in 
New York. If I did not approve of it he desired me to 
countermand the order, which I did, not because I dis- 
approved of a processional cross, which I very much 
wanted, but because you were not accustomed to it, and 
I was unwilling that it should be introduced until you 
had become well enough acquainted with me to trust my 
judgment. So careful was I about any innovation that, 
learning that a new litany desk had been presented as a 
memorial gift, I requested the Bishop, who officiated on 
Easter Day, contrary to the usual custom on that day, 
to say the Litany at the new desk, in order that I might 
find it in actual use on my arrival. Those of you who 
were present will remember that the Bishop asked you 
to remain after the celebration of the holy communion 
and join him in saying the litany; but probably none 
of you have ever known why he did it. 

On the nineteenth of May, 1888, one of the most 
interesting and attractive and efficient young choristers 



Reverend Francis Lobdell 93 

was removed by death, and his parents requested the 
privilege of presenting a processional cross as a memorial 
of him. I felt that the time had come when such a gift 
could be accepted; and ever since, whenever the choir 
has entered the church it has been " with the cross of 
Jesus going on before." 

This, so far as I can remember, is the only innovation 
I have made. Everything else is as I found it ten years 
ago. If there have been slight modifications in the 
order of worship, they have come so naturally that it 
seems as if there had been no change. I have aimed to 
take what we have and use it in a reverent and devout 
way. Anything that savors of irreverence in the house 
of God or the order of worship I abhor. There is no 
danger of being too reverent. The danger is all in the 
other direction, making the house of God merely a 
" meeting house." 

The condition in which I found the parish was not 
very encouraging. Besides the debt, which was large 
and burdensome, there were various difficulties to be 
overcome. The parishes of Trinity and Christ Church 
had been consolidated, but there were evidences of 
friction between the members of the two former organi- 
zations. One of the members of Christ Church (in 
language which you will pardon, for it expressed exactly 
what he meant) said that they " had been swallowed by 
Trinity and had not been digested." You had been a 
whole year without a rector, my predecessor having 
retired after the opening service in the new church on 
Easter Day, 1886. In consequence of the vacant rector- 
ship, the not too cordial relationship of the consolidated 
parishes, and the burdensome debt, the congregation 



94 History of Trinity Church 

had scattered, and altogether the tide was at a very low 
ebb. 

I found here only two hundred and thirty communi- 
cants. Forty-eight pews were unrented, and the income 
from those which were rented was only nine thousand 
six hundred dollars. Floating debts had accumulated, 
and the history of the parish for fifty years was being 
repeated, — borrowing money to pay current expenses. 
In March, 1888, a special effort was made to extinguish 
a part of the floating debt, and about four thousand dol- 
lars was raised for this purpose. 

There were three organizations of women which were 
doing efficient work — the Trinity Cooperative Relief So- 
ciety, the Church Furnishing Society, and the Ladies' Aid 
Society. The first of these limited its work to the poor 
on the East Side; the second devoted its energies to fur- 
nishing the new church, and actually raised six thousand 
dollars for this object. They were an enthusiastic band 
of energetic women, and the parish is greatly indebted to 
them for what they were able to accomplish. The third 
was devoted to benevolent work in the city, and also did 
some missionary work. 

When the object for which the Furnishing Society 
was organized was accomplished, the organization was 
given up. The Ladies' Aid Society was merged in a 
new Missionary Guild in connection with the Woman's 
Auxiliary; other guilds for young women and children 
were organized for the same object, and all of these 
have been doing excellent work. Comparatively few 
women of the parish are active members of the Mission- 
ary Guild. A few do all the work, for which the parish 
is responsible. To help the missionaries whom the 



Revei'end Francis Lobdell 95 

Church sends into the field in obedience to our Saviour's 
last command, does not seem to commend itself to the 
sympathy and hearty cooperation of many of our people. 
I do not speak of this as if this parish were exceptional 
in its conception of its responsibility for the support of 
missionaries, for it is not. Our branch of the Woman's 
Auxiliary stands the highest in the diocese; but still we 
are not doing all we ought to do. 

Within the last year the Cooperative Relief Society 
has greatly enlarged its operations by taking under its 
supervision a district on the East Side, where Trinity 
House has been established and a most important work 
among the poor is being successfully done. There is a 
mother's class which meets every Wednesday, and is 
attended by all the women the house will accommodate. 
They are credited with ten cents an hour for their sew- 
ing, and take their pay in garments made, or in material 
for garments. On Tuesdays a committee of women 
from the parish meets and cuts out the work for the 
following day. Cake and coffee are served to the women 
when their work is done. The refining and elevating 
influence upon these women is already very apparent. 

There is also at Trinity House a boys' club, a club 
for young men, and a girls' club which has outgrown the 
capacity of the building. There is also a diet kitchen 
where delicacies for the sick are prepared, and women 
are instructed in cooking. 

And last of all — and I would say the best if all the 
departments were not the best — is a kindergarten, where 
forty children are taught five days every week by most 
efficient and thoroughly trained teachers. The people of 
the parish are very much interested in this work at 



96 History of Trinity Church 

Trinity House, and have contributed for its support dur- 
ing the last year $2,6^(^.6'}^. 

An industrial school of from sixty to eighty children 
meets in the parish guild house every Saturday morning, 
and the children are systematically taught the art of 
sewing. The superintendent and her faithful corps of 
teachers are doing a self-sacrificing and praiseworthy 
work. The Altar Society, with its various chapters, has 
been most useful, and the Vestment Society has provided 
all the vestments which are used by the clergy and the 
choir. 

During the first four years of my rectorship I had no 
clerical assistance. The vestry, realizing that the growing 
work demanded more labor than one man was able to 
give it, offered to provide a salary for an assistant, and 
Captain Dobbins secured by subscription all the money 
necessary for this object in a very few days. But the sub- 
scribers were never called upon for the amount of their 
subscriptions, other and better things being provided a 
little later. 

The condition of the parish was every year improv- 
ing. The number of communicants had more than 
doubled, and the financial resources were very much 
increased. Still we were paying two thousand dollars a 
year in interest on our mortgage debt. If we could only 
be relieved from that heavy burden, the parish would 
rebound from all pecuniary embarrassment, and have two 
thousand dollars more to use for its legitimate work. 
This was discussed very earnestly at our vestry meetings, 
and finally it was determined to make an effort to raise 
the entire amount of the debt if possible, but in any 
event to raise all we could, I doubt if any member of 



Reverend Francis Lobciell 97 

the vestry really believed it would be possible to obtain 
subscriptions for the entire debt. We each pledged our- 
selves to do everything within our power for the accom- 
plishment of this object. Committees of the vestry and 
congregation were appointed to solicit subscriptions, and 
I was to preach a sermon on the subject to awaken the 
interest and enlist the cooperation of the congregation. 
Not a movement was to be made until the sermon had 
been preached. The sermon was prepared, but the next 
Sunday was stormy and the congregation was not large. 
So I did not preach the sermon that day. The next Sun- 
day was more unfavorable than the last. But the third 
Sunday was all we could wish for, and the congregation 
filled the church. The sermon, which I had taken into 
the pulpit three times, was then delivered, and before 
the congregation had all left the church that morning 
ten thousand dollars was subscribed. The committee 
immediately began their work with enthusiastic earnest- 
ness, and within ten days, on my return from New York, 
they met me in my study with a thousand dollars more 
than the entire amount of the debt subscribed; and so 
my friend the Presbyterian elder had proved himself to 
be a false prophet. 

Oh, what a relief it was to pastor and people to feel 
that this heavy burden had been removed! The sub- 
scriptions were payable in one, two, three, four, and five 
years. But almost the entire amount was paid within 
two years, and on the twentieth day of September, 1892, 
the mortgage having been removed, this church was 
solemnly consecrated by Bishop Coxe to Almighty God, 
to be used henceforth only for His worship and service, 
according to the liturgy of the Protestant Episcopal 



98 History of Trinity Church 

Church, and according to the usages prescribed in the 
Book of Common Prayer. 

For the first time in all its history the parish was 
entirely free from debt, and we were able to enlarge the 
scope of our work. 

On the 29th of January, 1891, Mrs. Caroline M. Mc- 
Credie, a communicant of this parish for more than fifty 
years, was removed by death; and when her will was 
read, to our complete surprise it was found that she had 
bequeathed nearly half of her estate to this parish. She 
had never said anything to me on the subject, though I 
had frequently visited her during her illness, as well as in 
the regular course of visitations while she was in health. 

In due time the parish received from her estate her 
former residence, which is now the rectory, and thirty 
thousand dollars in valuable investments which the vestry 
has regarded as an endowment fund, to be increased 
from year to year, for use when the income of the parish 
in years to come shall be reduced by changes which, in 
such a rapidly growing city as this, are inevitable. 

The vestry has contracted with The Tiffany Company, 
of New York, for a beautiful window, which will soon be 
placed in the church as a memorial of Mr. and Mrs. Mc- 
Credie.* The windows which now beautify the church, 
with the exception of those in the chancel and one in 
the nave, have all been placed here since April, 1887. 
There are in the church sixty-one memorials of the dead, 
forty of which have been given during the last ten years. 

For several years it had been evident that the organ, 
which was built for the old church, and which had been 



* This window, representing the archangels Gabriel and Raphael, was placed 
in the church on September ist, 1897. 



Reverend Francis Lobdcll 99 

in use for more than twenty years, was not adapted for 
the use to which it was put in this building. Its capacity 
was insufficient, and its mechanism defective. The vestry 
felt that the time had come when it was possible to pro- 
vide a better instrument. Accordingly last spring a 
movement was made in this direction, and in two or 
three weeks the entire amount required was raised, and 
the organ was paid for as soon as it was completed. 

There are many other items of interest to which I 
would be glad to allude, but I have already detained you 
too long. I have now only time to present a summary 
of the statistics of the parish for the last ten years. 

There were in April, 1887, two hundred and thirty 
communicants. There have since been added by transfer 
and confirmation nine hundred and one. We have lost 
by death seventy-eight, and by transfer one hundred and 
ninety-nine. The present number is therefore eight hun- 
dred and fifty-four. Four hundred and ten persons have 
been confirmed. I have baptized two hundred and ninety; 
have officiated at one hundred and twenty marriages and 
at two hundred and nine burials, and have made six thou- 
sand and ninety-six parochial calls. 

The total amount contributed by the parish during 
the last ten years is ^318,085.22. 

And now, beloved, I have given an account of my 
stewardship, but I take no credit to myself for what has 
been accomplished. Without your hearty cooperation I 
could have done nothing. You have sustained me in 
every effort I have made. I have felt that back of me 
was the entire force and cordial sympathy of the con- 
gregation. There has been, thank God, no carping criti- 
cism of my methods, and this is one of the secrets of our 



I oo History of Trinity Church 

success. You chose me as your rector, and your rector 
you have been willing that I should be. You have 
trusted me because you knew me, and though in this 
parish we are bound by no ironclad rule of absolute uni- 
formity in matters unimportant, we have worked together 
in perfect harmony, and we all see the great advantage 
of this method of work. 

I have been blessed with one of the best of vestries — 
broad-minded, inteUigent, enthusiastic men, aiding the 
rector in every possible way, and making his heart glad 
whenever a shadow of discouragement appeared. The 
vestry has never been divided on any action it has taken. 
I do not recall a single instance in which a vote was not 
unanimous. There have been full and unrestricted dis- 
cussions, but when a vote was taken it was unanimous. 

God bless you all, and make me more worthy of your 
sympathy and confidence. I came here to consecrate the 
best years of my life to the service of God in this parish. 
Pray for me, for I need your prayers. These ten years 
have been years of joy and sorrow; years of affliction, 
with their more than two hundred funerals; years of 
pleasure, the pastor mingling with one hundred and 
twenty bridal groups, going to the happy, going to the 
distressed, going to the beds of pain and death, his heart 
full of stored-up sympathies, trying to teach to all the 
blessed gospel of our loving Saviour. The bond that 
unites us is most sacred. 

Let us be faithful to God, to each other, and to the 
world around us, "with one mind striving together for 
the faith of the gospel," until our work is done and we 
hear the voice of our loving Father saying, "Come up 
higher." 




William D. Walker 



Bishop Walker 



IN October, 1896, a special council of the diocese of 
Western New York convened in Trinity Church, 
Buffalo, to fill the vacancy caused by the lamented 
death of our beloved Bishop Coxe. The unanimous vote 
of the council elected to this episcopate the Right Rev- 
erend William D. Walker, D. D., LL. D., missionary 
bishop of North Dakota, who accepted the call, much to 
the joy of the diocese in general, laymen as well as 
clergy. 

Bishop Walker is a New Yorker by birth. He pre- 
pared for college at Trinity School, New York, and grad- 
uated from Columbia College in 1859. He entered the 
General Theological Seminary the same year, was or- 
dained deacon by Bishop Potter in 1862, who also, a 
year later, ordained him to the priesthood. His first 
work in the ministry was in connection with Calvary 
Church, New York, of which Bishop Coxe (then the 
Reverend Doctor Coxe) was rector. Here he filled the 
post of assistant, having special charge of the chapel 
services, and this was his field of labor until called by 
the House of Bishops to take the missionary episcopate 
of North Dakota. He was consecrated December 20, 
1883, by bishops Clark, Coxe, Clarkson, Littlejohn, 
Benjamin H. Paddock, John A. Paddock, and Henry C. 
Potter. 

The missionary spirit, so greatly developed in Bishop 
Walker, found a wide scope for work among the Indians 



I02 History of Trinity Church 

and the frontier settlements of North Dakota. Though 
his jurisdiction was full of difficulties, he overcame the 
obstacles in his path and won success. During his wise 
administration great good was accomplished, and many 
churches were built and consecrated. Bishop Walker's 
devotion to the Indians within the limits of his see 
resulted in the evangelization of numbers of the red men. 
His ingenious expedient of the so-called " cathedral car," 
for carrying the services of the church to the scattered 
and isolated people of his charge, was remarkably suc- 
cessful, and has been adopted in other countries. 

Bishop Walker has won a high position for himself 
in the regard of all churchmen, not only in this country 
but in Great Britain as well. In accepting the call to 
the diocese of Western New York, he did not come 
among strangers, but was heartily welcomed by the 
many friends who remembered his kind ministrations at 
former times when Bishop Coxe was unable to make his 
visitations, and who knew how highly he was esteemed 
by our former beloved diocesan. 



Trinity Cooperative Relief Society 

A CRY from the Charity Organization Society in 
1879 for the cooperation of the churches in the 
city in the work of visiting the poor and assist- 
ing in the amehoration of their condition was responded 
to by members of Trinity Parish, who organized March 
27th, 1880, under the name of Trinity Cooperative 
Relief Society. The first meeting of all interested was 
called, and held at the residence of Doctor Walter Cary, 
at the corner of Delaware Avenue and Huron Street; 
and at a later meeting a draft of the constitution drawn 
up by Mr. Thomas Cary and Mr. Samuel M. Welch, 
junior, was presented and discussed, and, after being 
greatly amended, was adopted. 

The society was to lend a helping hand to all worthy 
people of whatever creed, not giving alms, but rendering 
such assistance as might enable those families committed 
to its care by the Charity Organization Society to be- 
come self-supporting. 

The following officers were appointed: president, 
Mr. William H. Gratwick; vice-president. Miss Maria 
M. Love; secretary. Miss Emily S. Ganson; assistant 
secretary. Miss Elizabeth C. Rochester; treasurer, Mr. 
Horatio H. Seymour. A Purchasing Committee, Cut- 
ting Committee, and Relief Committee were appointed, 
and work was begun at once in the parlor of Trinity 
Parish building on Mohawk Street, where every Wednes- 
day morning from ten to twelve o'clock the ladies of the 



I04 History of Trinity Omrch 

society were in attendance, giving out work or paying — 
in groceries, clothing, or cash, as the case might be — for 
work done. 

The work was scarcely entered upon when it became 
apparent that the constitution must undergo radical 
change, or nothing could be accomplished, the gentlemen 
averring that every new move suggested was unconstitu- 
tional. A committee composed of Mr. Thomas Gary and 
Miss Ganson was appointed to revise and report upon the 
constitution. They revised it so well, and guarded it so 
carefully, that it has never since been heard from; and 
from that day forward. Trinity Gooperative Relief Soci- 
ety has worked out its mission with neither constitution 
nor by-laws — and worked well! 

As the society's work increased, three rooms were 
taken on the second floor of the parish building; and at 
the end of four years the society removed to the Fitch 
Institute on Swan Street, where a suite of rooms was 
offered for its use by the Gharity Organization Society. 

At this time the officers were: president, Samuel 
M. Welch, junior; vice-president, Mrs. Henry M. Watson; 
treasurer, Horatio H. Seymour; secretary. Miss Emily 
S. Ganson; chairman of Relief Gommittee, Mrs. Henry 
G. Winslow; secretary of Relief Gommittee, Miss Eliza- 
beth G. Rochester. In the space of a little more than 
four years, two hundred families had been cared for, and 
only four out of that number had been found unworthy. 
One hundred and seventy-five had become self-support- 
ing, or had left the city, and in many cases had rendered 
relief to others by dividingtheir work with them, thereby 
becoming coworkers with the Relief Society, instead ot 
beneficiaries. In the early days of this society it was 



Trinity Cooperative Relief Society 105 

the custom to hold a general monthly meeting in the 
evenings, at which time matters pertaining to the good 
of the society in general were presented to the council 
for conference ; and suggestions were made by both men 
and women as to the best methods to be pursued in the 
management of cases. For example: one woman could 
not use her needle and give sufficient support to her 
family; scrubbing and cleaning met with equally fatal re- 
sults, and the visitor was at a loss to know what to do. 
A member of the society, a bachelor, who was away from 
his home, and had homemade bread sent him every week, 
suggested her making and selling homemade bread, and 
gave an order for a loaf to be sent to him at his club 
every day. This suggestion was followed by the visitor 
herself teaching the woman to make bread and cake. 
Within a year she was making and delivering one thou- 
sand loaves a week, and in a very short time had all the 
orders she could fill, and fully supported herself and 
her family. This monthly general meeting was found ot 
great benefit, the advice and counsel of the men of the 
congregation being invaluable. 

A wretched case of squalor and misery, which for 
many months baffled a series of inexperienced visitors, 
and was about to be returned to the Charity Organiza- 
tion Society marked "English paupers," was taken in 
hand by one of the elder visitors. She was found to be 
a little disheartened widow, whose husband's sudden 
death by falling through an open hatchway had left her 
with six little children, one a baby in arms. Living in 
a basement, and with insufficient food, no wonder that 
poverty of the blood was painfully manifested in all their 
faces. The eldest boy was nine years old, and must be 



io6 History of Trinity Church 

clothed and sent to school. Work was found for the 
mother in cleaning the offices of the street railroad com- 
pany, and within a few months the whole aspect of the 
family was changed. By fortunate chance the visitor 
discovered certain papers relating to a life insurance, 
which, followed up through the legal advice and kindly 
efforts of Mr. Ansley Wilcox, finally brought a decision 
from the court granting the little widow four thousand 
dollars. This was safely invested for her in bonds and 
mortgages by her attorney, and within five years of the 
time she had been branded an English pauper she be- 
came a landed proprietor, and had proved herself an in- 
dustrious, capable woman, able to support herself and her 
six children, with only a helping hand extended to her 
and a kindly word of encouragement to make her feel 
that she was not standing alone to bear the burden 
which had so suddenly fallen upon her shoulders. 

One other case only will be quoted, that of a woman 
who came to one of the ladies during the summer 
months, to say that neither she nor her three children 
had had food for nearly twenty-four hours. Sewing was 
given her, and later she was put under instruction and 
became self-supporting as a manicure and chiropodist, 
repaying to the society in full the money which had 
been advanced to her for relief and instruction. 

So for nearly seventeen years the work has been car- 
ried on by this society, which, since its organization, has 
given work to five hundred and forty-eight families. Dur- 
ing this period, the following list of names appears as 
officers and workers : 

Presidents: William H. Gratwick, four years; Mrs. 
Henry C. Winslow, ten years; Mrs. Henry C. Crane, one 
year; Mrs. Wilson S. Bissell, one year. 



Trinity Cooperative Relief Society 107 

Vice-presidents : Miss Maria M. Love, eleven years; 
Mrs. Henry M. Watson, one year; Miss Emily Sibley 
Ganson, one year; Miss Ida Haven, one year; Mrs. Seth 
C. Clark, one year; Mrs. Peter A. Porter, one year. 

Secretaries : Miss Emily Sibley Ganson, four years ; 
Miss Elizabeth C. Rochester (assistant), three years ; Mrs. 
Bainbridge Fohvell, two years; Miss Ida Haven, two 
years; Mrs. Nathaniel Rochester, three years; Mrs. 
Charles O. Howard, two years; Mrs. Parkhurst (corre- 
spondence), one year; Mrs. John Parmenter, two years; 
Mrs. John L. Williams, one year. 

Treasurers: Mrs. Horatio H. Seymour, four years; 
Mrs. Henry C. Springer, four years; Mrs. Seth C. Clark, 
four years; Mrs. Jesse C. Dann, four years. 

Visitors and workers: Mrs. Demarest, Mrs. Elizabeth 
Cary, the Misses Rochester, Miss Morris, Miss Jeanie 
Dann, Mrs. Henry Y. Grant, Mrs. A. A. Noye, Miss 
Wheeler, Mrs. E. A. Bell, Mrs. F. E. Howard, Mrs. Wil- 
liam Meadows, Miss Elizabeth Townsend, Mrs. William 
H. Gratwick, Mrs. Gibson Howard, Mrs. E. S. Wheeler, 
Mrs. George W. Miller, Mrs. H. M. Gerrans, Mrs. Sidney 
Sweet, Mrs. Stedman Williams, Mrs. Mary E. Mixer, 
Mrs. F. L. A. Cady, Miss Hauenstein, Mrs. John Druar, 
Miss Sarah Hazard. 

About three years ago, the writer, while in Boston, 
was asked if she knew anything about a powerful society 
in Buffalo known as the Trinity Cooperative Relief So- 
ciety. A family had moved east, and had told how, 
through the kindness and help received from this society, 
they had been ^-aised from penury to independence. 

In 1 896 it was found that many who had never before 
asked for or received assistance disliked to apply to any 



1 08 History of Trinity Church 

" relief" society, and considered it to be allied to the 
poor master. Thereupon the word " Relief" was stricken 
out from the society's name, and it became Trinity Co- 
operative Society. 

In November, 1895, the Buffalo districting plan was 
suggested by a member of this society, and through the 
Charity Organization Society the whole city was divided 
into districts, each district to be taken by a church or a 
society. The following letter is Miss Love's original 
statement of the plan to the clergy of Buffalo. 

November 16, 1895. 

It has been well said, "If you could district the large cities, 
and induce the churches to look after those districts as the poli- 
ticians look after the voters in those districts, there would follow 
such an uplifting of the masses as has not been known since the 
coming of the Master ! " 

Following this suggestion a committee has been at work during 
the summer, districting the city with a view to placing each district 
in the care of a church. 

When the question is asked, "What responsibility does a 
church assume in accepting the care of a district from the hands of 
the Districting Committee?" perhaps no better reply could be 
voiced than that given in the New Testament to the question, 
"Who is my neighbor?" Each district has certain attributes 
more or less peculiar to itself, and the temperament of the church 
must govern somewhat the treatment of the district. 

In general, the highest development of the best that is in the 
individual, and through the individual the uplifting of the com- 
munity, is what is aimed at in this districting of the city. 

A thorough knowledge of the dwellings and dwellers in a dis- 
trict would, perforce, require a certain amount of friendly visit- 
ing, of personal intercourse. This would lead to a knowledge of 
the wants of that community, spiritually, morally, and physically, 
and with a knowledge of the wants would be awakened a desire to 
relieve them. Just how far this can be done will depend upon the 
ability of those working in the church. When it is a matter of 



Trinity Cooperative Relief Society 109 

material relief, beyond the financial capacity of the church to meet, 
the Overseer of the Poor can be appealed to, though it is always 
deemed desirable to inspire such a measure of self-respect as may 
prevent as far as possible recourse to the Overseer of the Poor. In 
certain districts the care of the children would possibly lead, with 
the growth of the work, to the establishing of kindergartens, of 
kitchen gardens, of sewing schools, of carpenter shops, and of 
public playgrounds. Some knowledge of the ways of the men might 
lead to the establishing of bright, attractive coffee houses, with 
billiard tables, which would ultimately close the neighboring saloon. 

Personal intercourse with the women would disclose their 
ignorance of household economy, and lead to their availing them- 
selves of the privileges offered by the Women's Union, in classes 
of cooking, laundry work, and general housework, and lead, too, 
to some effort to make the home clean, comfortable, and attractive. 

But over all, and above all, is the spirit which animates this 
service — " the cheerful and helpful doing of what the hand finds to 
do, in surety that, at evening time, whatsoever is right the Master 
will give." 

As far as possible, it is desired that each church should confine 
its relief work to its own district. Where it has interests in other 
districts, however, the church of that other district should be noti- 
fied that certain of its people are being cared for elsewhere, so that 
the two churches should not both be relieving the same family. 

Where any material relief is given, it is earnestly requested 
that the name and address of the family receiving it be sent in to 
the Charity Organization Society, that a full record may be kept at 
its office. The officers and agents of the Charity Organization 
Society will always be at the service of the churches. 

In placing a district in the care of a congregation, perhaps no 
better advice could be given than that of John Ruskin : "You know 
how often it is difficult to be wisely charitable ; to do good, without 
multiplying the sources of evil. You know that to give alms is 
nothing unless you give thought also ; and that therefore it is written, 
not, 'Blessed is he that feedeth the poor,' but 'Blessed is he that 
considereth the poor.' And you know that a little thought and a 
little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money." 

MARIA M. LOVE, 

Chairman. 



no History of Trinity Church 

At a meeting of the Trinity Cooperative Relief So- 
ciety in March, 1896, it was decided to assume the re- 
sponsibility of a single district, following the plan sug- 
gested by the Charity Organization Society; and district 
number one hundred and thirty-five was taken, having 
the following boundaries: Exchange Street to Buffalo 
Creek; Michigan Street, to Louisiana Street, barring the 
district east of Chicago Street and south of Fulton Street. 
The following November a house was leased at 258 Elk 
Street, in which Mrs. Bradnack was installed as resident. 

With the opening of the year 1897, the work is given 
out to the women as of old, on Wednesdays, but with a 
difference. They meet at the house in the afternoons, 
and sew for two hours and a half, receiving ten cents an 
hour. This they may trade out in clothing or groceries 
at greatly reduced rates. During the afternoon, the 
women, in circles of eight and ten, adjourn to the dining 
room, where they are served each with a cup of hot 
coffee and a bun. This converts their stay into a very 
enjoyable " afternoon tea." The ladies of the society 
preside over each circle of sewers, and a most desirable 
and beneficial relation is established between the women 
of the society and the women of the district. The chil- 
dren who are too young to be left at home alone are 
brought by their mothers to the " Housekeepers' Club," 
as it is now termed, and are taken care of and amused 
by certain members of the society in attendance for that 
purpose. 

A library and reading room have been inaugurated, 
and it is proposed to establish men's clubs, boys' clubs, 
and girls' clubs, and to broaden the work as rapidly as 
workers are found ready to lead. 



Trinity Cooperative Relief Society 1 1 1 

A kindergarten will be opened January 4th, which 
has its full complement of children, forty in number, 
already enrolled, under two competent kindergartners, 
Miss Kate Belton and Miss Edith Worthington. It is 
to maintain this kindergarten that the proceeds from the 
sale of this history will be applied. It is believed that 
the dissemination of the kindergarten spirit to the moth- 
ers through their children, and in the mothers' meetings 
conducted by the kindergartners, will do more towards 
the uplifting of the district than any other work entered 
upon by the society. 

The following is the list of officers and committees, 
January ist, 1897, of Trinity Cooperative Society: 

President, Mrs. William Meadows; vice-president, 
Miss Maria M. Love; secretary, Mrs. John Druar; treas- 
urer, Mrs. Edgar B. Jewett. 

House Committee: Mrs. Thomas Symons, chairman; 
Mr. and Mrs. Henry M. Watson, Mr. and Mrs. Park- 
hurst, Mrs. George L.Williams, Major Symons, Mr. and 
Mrs. Wilson S. Bissell, Mr. Charles O. Howard. 

Finance Committee: Mrs. Nathaniel Rochester, 
chairman; Mr. and Mrs. T. Guilford Smith, Mr. and Mrs. 
Charles O. Howard, Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Fryer, Mr. 
and Mrs. George Bleistein, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Clifton, 
Mr. and Mrs. Edmund W. Granger, Mr. and Mrs. George 
S. Field, Mr. and Mrs. George W. Miller, Mr. and Mrs. 
George L. Williams. 

Kindergarten Committee: Miss Maria M. Love, 
chairman; Mrs. H. W. Gerrans, Mrs. Martin Clark, Mrs. 
E. S. Wheeler, Miss Hauenstein, Mrs. L. O. Allen, Mrs. 
Abbott, Mrs. Demarest, Miss Doyle, Mr. and Mrs. Fol- 
insbee. Dr. and Mrs. Breuer, Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Sweet, 



1 1 2 History of Trinity CJmrch 

Cooking Class Committee: Mrs. Redfern, chairman. 

Reading Room and Library Committee: Mrs. Dexter 
P. Rumsey, chairman; Mr. and Mrs. Charles Clifton, 
Mr. and Mrs. L. D. Rumsey, Mr. and Mrs. George L. 
Laverack, Mr. and Mrs. C. H. Keep, Mr. and Mrs. George 
J. Sicard, Mr. and Mrs. Porter Norton, Mr. and Mrs. Wil- 
liam H. Gratwick, Mrs. James P. White, Mrs. Movius, 
Mrs. Mary E. Mixer, Dr. and Mrs. Roswell Park, Miss 
Marion Spaulding, Miss Helen Winslow, Miss Fanny 
Winslow, Miss Sarah Hazard, Miss Jennie Williams, 
Mr. Seymour White, Mr. Frederick Mixer, Mr. James 
Dyett. 

Cutting Committee: Mrs. Edmund W. Granger, 
chairman; Mrs. S. A. Wheeler, Mrs. Rachel Weaver, 
Mrs. F. L. A. Cady, Mrs. M. Buell, Miss Elizabeth 
Townsend, Mrs. Elizabeth Cary, Mrs. Charles Hengerer. 

Worn Clothing Committee: Mrs. Benjamin Folsom, 
chairman; Mrs. Codman. 

New Garments Committee: Miss Elsie Wheeler, 
chairman; Mrs. A. A. Noye, Mrs. Henry Y. Grant, Miss 
Jennie Williams. 

Housekeepers' Club Committee: Mrs. S. S. Spaulding, 
chairman; Mrs. Joseph Hunsicker, Mrs. Henry M. 
Watson, Mrs. Charles O. Howard, Mrs. F. E. Howard, 
Mrs. Folwell, Mrs. Crane, Mrs. R. Weaver, Miss Sarah 
Hazard, Miss England. 

Men's Club Committee: Mr. James Dyett, chairman. 

Girls' Clubs Committee: Miss Marion Spaulding, 
chairman ; Miss May Williams. 

Boys' Clubs Committee: Miss Margaret F. Roches- 
ter, chairman; Miss Anna Maude Hoxsie, Mr. J. F. 
Druar, Mr. Laurence Williams. 



Trinity Cooperative Relief Society 1 1 3 

Executive Committee: Mrs. William Meadows, chair- 
man; Miss Maria M. Love, Mrs. John Druar, Mrs. Dex- 
ter P. Rumsey, Mrs. Porter Norton, Mrs. Nathaniel 
Rochester, Mrs. Edgar B. Jewett, Mrs. Ward, Mrs. 
Thomas Symons, Mrs. S. S. Spaulding, Mrs. Demarest. 



And the bishop, and the deacon 

And the presbyter are there, 
In pure and stainless raiment, 

At Eucharist and prayer ; 
And the bells swing free and merry, 

And a nation shouteth round, 
For the Lord Himself hath triumphed. 

And His voice is in the sound, 

BISHOP COXE. 



Wardens and Vestrymen 

SOME of the earlier records of the church having 
been lost during the removal from old Trinity, 
a list of the wardens and vestrymen comprising 
the vestries from 1855 is all that can be given without 
resorting to sources which Avould not be authentic. 

1855 

Wardens: John Radcliff, Henry Daw. 

Vestrymen: Henry W. Rogers, Corneille R. Ganson, 
Robert H. Maynard, RoUin Germain, Gibson T. Wil- 
liams, Walter Gary, Jesse C. Dann, Henry L. Lansing. 

1856 

Wardens : Henry Daw, Henry W. Rogers. 

Vestrymen : Jesse C. Dann, Corneille R. Ganson, Gib- 
son T. Williams, Walter Gary, Henry L. Lansing, Alex- 
ander A. Evstaphieve, Augustus C. Taylor, John Ganson. 

1857 

Wardens: Henry Daw, Henry W. Rogers. 

Vestrymen : Gibson T. Williams, Corneille R, Ganson, 
Jesse C. Dann, Henry L. Lansing, Walter Gary, John 
Ganson, Alexander A. Evstaphieve, Augustus C. Taylor. 

John M. Hutchinson was clerk of the vestry from 
1855 to 1858. At this date the pews numbered up to 
one hundred and eleven, and the valuation ran from two 
hundred and fifty dollars to six hundred and fifty dollars. 



I ] 6 History of Trinity CJmrch 



Wardens: Henry Daw, Henry W. Rogers. 

Vestrymen : Gibson T. Williams, Alexander A. Ev- 
staphieve, Jesse C. Dann, James M. Smith, Robert Hol- 
Hster, George W. Clinton, John M. Hutchinson, James 
C. Harrison. 

1859 

Wardens: Henry Daw, Henry W. Rogers. 

Vestrymen: Alexander A. Evstaphieve, James M. 
Smith, Robert Hollister, James C. Harrison, George W. 
Clinton, Henry Martin, Stephen V. R. Watson, Samuel 
K. Worthington. 

i860 

Wardens: Henry Daw, Henry W. Rogers. 

Vestrymen: James M. Smith, Robert Hollister, Alex- 
ander A. Evstaphieve, Stephen V. R. Watson, Henry 
Martin, Samuel K. Worthington, James C. Harrison, 
Rufus L. Howard. 

1861 

Wardens: Henry Daw, Henry W. Rogers. 

Vestrymen: James M. Smith, Robert Hollister, 
Stephen V. R. Watson, Henry Martin, Samuel K. Wor- 
thington, James C. Harrison, Rufus L. Howard. 

In 1 86 1, the Reverend O. F. Starkey was appointed 
assistant rector during the absence of Doctor IngersoU. 
He was much beloved by the congregation. 

1862 

Wardens : Henry Daw, Henry W. Rogers. 

Vestrymen: James M. Smith, Robert Hollister, 
Stephen V. R. Watson, Henry Martin, Samuel K. Wor- 
thington, James C. Harrison, Rufus L. Howard. 



JVarde7is and Vestrymen 117 

1863 

Wardens: Henry Daw, Henry W. Rogers. 

Vestrymen : Rufus L. Howard, Stephen V. R.Watson, 
Samuel K. Worthington, Benjamin F. Smith, James Mc- 
Credie, David P. Dobbins, Rufus C. Pahner, Augustus C. 
Taylor. 

1864 

Wardens: Henry Daw, Henry W. Rogers. 

Vestrymen: Rufus L. Howard, Stephen V. R.Watson, 
Samuel K. Worthington, Benjamin F. Smith, James Mc- 
Credie, David P. Dobbins, Rufus C. Palmer, Augustus C. 
Taylor. 

1865 

Wardens: Henry W. Rogers, Robert Hollister. 

Vestrymen: Rufus L. Howard, Stephen V. R.Watson, 
Samuel K. Worthington, Benjamin F. Smith, James Mc- 
Credie, David P. Dobbins, Rufus C. Palmer, Augustus C. 
Taylor, John Cook. 

1866 

Wardens : Henry W. Rogers, Robert Hollister. 

Vestrymen: Rufus L. Howard, Samuel K. Worthing- 
ton, Augustus C. Taylor, Benjamin F. Smith, James Mc- 
Credie, John H. Vought, John Allen, junior, James M. 
Smith. 

1867 

Wardens: Henry W. Rogers, Robert Hollister. 

Vestrymen : Rufus L. Howard, James M. Smith, 
James McCredie, John H. Vought, John Allen, junior, 
Gibson T. Williams, Henry Kip, Joseph D. Roberts. 



1 1 8 History of Trinity Church 

1868 

Wardens: Henry W. Rogers, Robert Hollister. 

Vestrymen: Rufus L. Howard, James M. Smith, 
James McCredie, John H. Vought, John Allen, junior, 
Gibson T. Williams, Henry Kip, Joseph D. Roberts. 

1869 ■ 

Wardens : Henry W. Rogers, Robert Hollister. 

Vestrymen: James M. Smith, Rufus L. Howard, ^, 

James McCredie, John H. Vought, George L. Williams, B 

John Allen, junior, Samuel M. Welch. " 

1870 

Wardens: Henry W. Rogers, Robert Hollister. 

Vestrymen: Rufus L. Howard, James M. Smith, 
James McCredie, Henry Kip, Samuel M. Welch, William 
Williams, William H. Dudlej/, George Gorham. 

1871 

Wardens: Henry W. Rogers, Robert Hollister. 

Vestrymen: Rufus L. Howard, James M. Smith, 
James McCredie, Henry Kip, Samuel M. Welch, William 
Williams, George Gorham, Stephen V. R. Watson. 

1872 

Wardens: Robert Hollister, James M. Smith. 

Vestrymen: Samuel M. Welch, Rufus L. Howard, 
James McCredie, Benjamin F. Smith, Thomas F. Roch- 
ester, George Gorham, Henry Kip, Stephen V. R. Watson, 



IVardefis mid Vestry 77teji 1 1 9 

1873 

Wardens: Robert Hollister, James M. Smith. 

Vestrymen: Rufus L. Howard, James McCredie, 
Henry Kip, Samuel M. Welch, Stephen V. R. Watson, 
Samuel K. Worthington, Thomas F. Rochester, Walter 
Gary. 

1874 

Wardens: James M. Smith, Alexander A. Evsta- 
phieve. 

Vestrymen: Samuel M. Welch, Delevan F. Clark, 
Henry M. Watson, Joseph T. Fairchild, Townsend Davis, 
Livingston Lansing, Henry C. Winslow, William E. 
Foster. 

It was this vestry which had the honor of calling the 
Reverend Doctor Van Bokkelen to the rectorship. 

1875 

Wardens: James M. Smith, Alexander A. Evsta- 
phieve. 

Vestrymen: Townsend Davis, Delevan F. Clark, 
Henry C. Winslow, Samuel M. Welch, Moses Smith, 
Henry M. Watson, Joseph T. Fairchild, William E. 
Foster, 

1876 

Wardens: James M. Smith, Alexander A. Evsta- 
phieve. 

Vestrymen: Samuel M, Welch, William Laverack, 
Moses Smith, Delevan F. Clark, Henry C. Winslow, 
Henry M. Watson, Charles B. Germain, William E. 
Foster. 



1 20 Histo7y of Trinity Church 

1877 

Wardens: James M. Smith, Alexander A. Evsta- 
phieve. 

Vestrymen: Moses Smith, Samuel M. Welch, Charles 
B. Germain, WiUiam Laverack, Frank W. Fiske, John 
Allen, junior, Sylvester F. Mixer, Samuel M. Welch, 
junior. 

It was this vestry which elected the Reverend Doctor 
IngersoU rector emeritus. 

1878 

Wardens: James M. Smith, Alexander A. Evsta- 
phieve. 

Vestrymen: Samuel M. Welch, William Laverack, 
Moses Smith, Sylvester F. Mixer, Frank W. Fiske, Sam- 
uel M. Welch, junior, Charles B. Germain, George J. 
Sicard. 

1879 

Wardens: James M. Smith, Alexander A. Evsta- 
phieve. 

Vestrymen: William Laverack, Samuel K. Worthing- 
ton, Samuel M. Welch, Delevan F. Clark, William H. 
Gratwick, Samuel M. Welch, junior, Lawrence D. Rum- 
sey, Nathaniel Rochester. 

1880 

Wardens: James M. Smith, Elam R. Jewett. 

Vestrymen: Samuel K. Worthington, Samuel M. 
Welch, William Laverack, Henry M. Watson, Nathaniel 
Rochester, William H, Gratwick, Samuel M. Welch, 
junior, Lawrence D. Rumsey. 



Wardens and Vestjynien 121 

1881 

Wardens: Elam R. Jewett, William Laverack. 

Vestrymen: Samuel M.Welch, William H. Gratwick, 
Samuel K. Worthington, Nathaniel Rochester, Samuel 
M. Welch, junior, Edmund W. Granger, Charles A. De 
Laney, Porter Norton. 

1882 

Wardens: Elam R. Jewett, William Laverack. 

Vestrymen: Samuel K. Worthington, William H. 
Gratwick, Edmund W. Granger, Charles A. DeLaney, 
Porter Norton, Rufus L. Howard, Delevan F. Clark. 

1883 

Wardens: Elam R. Jewett, William Laverack. 

Vestrymen: Samuel K. Worthington, William H. 
Gratwick, Delevan F. Clark, Charles A. DeLaney, Porter 
Norton, Rufus L. Howard, Edmund W. Granger, William 
Meadows. 

1884 

Wardens: Elam R. Jewett, William Laverack. 

Vestrymen : Rufus L. Howard, Samuel K. Worthing- 
ton, William H. Gratwick, Edmund W. Granger, James 
P. White, Leonidas Doty, Moses M. Smith, Charles H. 
Utley. 

In this year the consolidation of the two parishes of 
Trinity and Christ Church was effected, and a joint 
vestry selected from both, as follows: 

Wardens: Thomas Dennis, Elam R. Jewett. 

Vestrymen : Asaph S. Bemis, Ensign Bennett, Henry 
C. Springer, Andrew J. Packard, Rufus L. Howard, Wil- 
liam H. Gratwick, Leonidas Doty, Edmund W. Granger. 



12 2 History of Trinity Church 

1885 
Wardens: Elam R. Jewett, Thomas Dennis. 
Vestrymen: William H. Gratwick, Ensign Bennett, 
Rufus L. Howard, Asaph S. Bemis, Leonidas Doty, 
Henry C. Springer, Edmund W. Granger, Hobart B. 
Loomis. 

1886 

Wardens: Rufus L. Howard, Thomas Dennis. 

Vestrymen: William H. Gratwick, Nathaniel Roch- 
ester, William Laverack, Ensign Bennett, M. Bainbridge 
Folwell, Hobart B. Loomis, Charles H. Utley, Peter C. 
Doyle. 

This was the vestry that elected the Reverend Doctor 
Lobdell. 

1887 

Wardens: Rufus L. Howard, Thomas Dennis. 

Vestrymen: William Laverack, Ensign Bennett, 
Peter C. Doyle, William H. Gratwick, M. Bainbridge 
Folwell, Charles H. Utley, Hobart B. Loomis, Nathaniel 
Rochester. 

1888 

Wardens: Rufus L. Howard, Thomas Dennis. 

Vestrymen: Peter C. Doyle, Hobart B. Loomis, M. 
Bainbridge Folwell, Charles H. Utley, Nathaniel Roch- 
ester, Porter Norton, George Gorham, Samuel K. Wor- 
thington. 

1889 

Wardens: Rufus L. Howard, David P. Dobbins. 

Vestrymen: Porter Norton, Charles H. Utley, M. 
Bainbridge Folwell, Hobart B. Loomis, Samuel K. Wor- 
thington, George Gorham, Peter C. Doyle, Nathaniel 
Rochester. 



Wardens a7id Vestrymen 123 

1890 

Wardens: Rufus L. Howard, David P. Dobbins. 

Vestrymen : Porter Norton, Charles H, Utley, M. 
Bainbridge Folwell, Hobart B. Loomis, Samuel K. Wor- 
thington, George Gorham, Peter C. Doyle, Nathaniel 
Rochester. 

1891 

Wardens: Rufus L. Howard, David P. Dobbins. 

Vestrymen: Porter Norton, Charles H. Utley, M. 
Bainbridge Folwell, Samuel K. Worthington, George 
Gorham, Peter C. Doyle, Nathaniel Rochester, Henry 

M. Watson. 

1892 

Wardens: Rufus L. Howard, David P. Dobbins. 

Vestr}^men: Nathaniel Rochester, Peter C. Doyle, 
M. Bainbridge Folwell, Charles H. Utley, George Gor- 
ham, Samuel K. Worthington, Porter Norton, Henry M. 
Watson. 

1893 

Wardens: Rufus L. Howard, George Gorham. 

Vestrj'-men: Nathaniel Rochester, Peter C. Doyle, 
M. Bainbridge Folwell, Charles H. Utley, Samuel K. 
Worthington, Porter Norton, Henry M. Watson, Robert 
L. Fryer. 

1894 

Wardens: Rufus L. Howard, George Gorham. 

Vestrymen: Nathaniel Rochester, Peter C. Doyle, 
M. Bainbridge Folwell, Charles H. Utley, Samuel K. 
Worthington, Porter Norton, Henry M. Watson, Robert 
L. Fryer. 



124 History of Trinity Chitrch 

1895 

Wardens: Rufus L. Howard, George Gorham. 

Vestrymen: Nathaniel Rochester, Peter C. Doyle, 
M. Bainbridge Folwell, Charles H. Utley, Samuel K. 
Worthington, Porter Norton, Henry M. Watson, Robert 
L. Fryer. 

1896 

Wardens: Rufus L. Howard, George Gorham. 

Vestrymen: Nathaniel Rochester, Peter C. Doyle, 
Edmund W. Granger, Charles H. Utley, Samuel K. 
Worthington, Porter Norton, Henry M. Watson, Robert 
L. Fryer. 

1897 

Wardens. — For one year: George Gorham. 

For two years: Nathaniel Rochester. 

Vestrymen. — For one year : Charles H. Utley, Henry 
M, Watson, Henry C. Howard. 

For two years: Samuel K. Worthington, Robert L. 
Fryer, Wilson S. Bissell. 

For three years: Peter C. Doyle, Porter Norton, 
Edmund W. Granger. 



I 



Memorial Gifts 
Christ Chapel 

Before the Consolidation 

Altar, in memory of Jane Elizabeth Forsyth. 

Chancel window, in memory of Jennie Angelina 
Laning. 

Lectern, in memory of Martha J. Dealey. 

Window at end of nave, in memory of Charles Knapp 
Loomis. 

Window, in memory of Cameron and Agnes Hasten. 

Window, in memory of Gilbert Holland Warren. 

Brass tablet on south wall, in memory of Arthur 
Perry Nichols. 

Latin cross, in memory of May Kasson. 

Christ Chapel 

After the Consolidation 

Prayer desk, in memory of Emily and Alexander A. 
Evstaphieve. 

Brass tablet on south wall, in memory of the Rever- 
end Thomas Dennis, church warden. 

Brass tablet on north wall, in memory of Asaph S. 
Bemis, church warden. 

Altar service books, in memory of Mrs. Zillah Rob- 
erts Fell. 



1 2 6 History of Trinity Church 

White altar cloth, in memory of the Reverend Thomas 
Dennis. 

Six brass vesper candlesticks, in memory of Mrs. 
Adelia Dennis. 

Trinity Church. 

Chancel windows, John La Farge, artist. 

1. " Nativity of Our Lord," in memory of James Piatt 
White, M. D., and Mary Elizabeth White. 

2. " Adoration of the Magi," in memory of Jerry 
Radcliffe and Ariadne Webster Radcliffe. 

3. "The Transfiguration," in memory of the Rever- 
end Edward Ingersoll, D. D. 

4. " The Resurrection," in memory of Stephen Van 
Rensselaer Watson. 

5. " The Ascension," in memory of Harriette Cor- 
nelia Howard. 

Window over memorial altar, by La Farge; subject, 
"The Sealing of the Twelve Tribes"; in memory of 
Anna M. Sherman and Gretchen Van Dalsten. 

Window by La Farge, illustrating the twenty-third 
psalm, in memory of Mrs. George S. Hazard. 

Window by Mayer & Co., Munich; subject, "Faith 
and Charity"; in memory of Mrs. James M. Smith. 

Window by Tiffany; subject, "Saint Cecilia"; in 
memory of Orson Phelps and Mary Louise Phelps. 

Window by Tiffany; subject, " Christ Restoring Sight 
to the Blind"; in memory of Sylvester F. Mixer, M. D., 
Annie Knowlton Mixer, Mary Knowlton Mixer. 

Window by La Farge; subject, "The Good Samari- 
tan " ; in memory of Thomas F. Rochester, M. D. 



Meinorial Gifts 127 

Window by Tiffany; subject, "The Archangels 
Gabriel and Raphael "; in memory of James McCredie 
and Caroline M. McCredie. 

Window by La Farge; subject, "The Calling of Saint 
James"; in memory of James C. Harrison. 

Window by Gibson's Sons; subject, "Christ Knock- 
ing at the Door"; in memory of William G. Fargo. 

Window by Tiffany; subject, "The Annunciation"; 
the gift of Mrs. Edward H. Button. 

Window by Tiffany; subject, "The Calling of Saint 
Matthew"; in memory of James Daniels Sheppard. 

Window by Hardman & Co., London; subject, " The 
Feeding of Elisha in the Wilderness"; in memory of 
Leonidas Doty. 

Window in vestibule, by Hardman & Co., London; 
subject, "Mary and Martha"; given by Saint Luke's 
Church. 

Altar and reredos, in memory of Amelia D'Arcy 
Van Bokkelen and Henrietta Maria Van Bokkelen. 

Altar cross and vases, in memory of Bertha Van 
Bokkelen. 

Violet altar cloth, in memory of Elam R. Jewett. 

White altar cloth, in memory of Cecilia Utley. 

Red altar cloth, in memory of Eunice A. Hutchinson. 

Green altar cloth, in memory of Ellen Marvine Gor- 
ham. 

Fair linen cloth, veils, burse, etc., in memory of Louise 
White. 

White antependium for pulpit, in memory of Chandler 
J. Wells. 

Silver alms basin, in memory of the Reverend Doctor 
Ingersoll. 



128 Histo7'y of Trmity Church 

Silver alms basin, in memory of the Reverend Doctor 
Van Bokkelen. 

Silver chalice and paten, in memory of May Husted 
Foster. 

Two candelabra, in memory of Marianne Humphreys 
Pease and Julia F. Pease. 

Processional cross, in memory of Frederic Betts 
Foster. 

Alms chest and brass tablet in the tower vestibule, in 
memory of Frederic Betts Foster. 

Alms chest in the main vestibule, in memory of 
Asaph S. Bemis. 

Pulpit and lantern, in memory of Mary Richards 
Dobbins. 

Litany desk, in memory of Bradford Chauncey 
Howard. 

Brass lectern, in memory of George B. Gates. 

Chair rail, in memory of James P. White. 

Hymn board, in memory of Miss Lydia Stewart. 

Hymn board, in memory of Nathaniel Hall. 

Memorial Chapel 

Reredos, in memory of Julia E. Tryon. 

Altar cross, in memory of those buried by Doctor 
Van Bokkelen. 

Baptismal font and brass rail, in memory of Mary 
Heathcote Rochester. 

Marble statue of " Hope," in memory of Mrs. James 
M. Smith. 

Ewer, font, and cover, in memory of those baptized 
by Doctor Van Bokkelen. 



Memoi'ial Gifts 129 

Silver baptismal bowl, in memory of Louise White. 

Green altar cloth, in memory of Julia H. Rieffenstahl. 

Good Friday altar cloths, in memory of Mary Knowl- 
ton Mixer. 

Two altar vases, gift of Mrs. Thomas F. Rochester. 

Full set of service books, in memory of Charlotte 
Brownell Ives. 

Altar book (by Updike), Thanksgiving offering by T. 
Guilford Smith. 

Silver communion set for the sick, in memory of 
Antoinette Haven. 

Silver baptismal bowl, in memory of Mrs. Thomas F. 
Rochester. 

Two brass eucharistic candlesticks, in memory of 
Rosalind B. Ross. 

Silver flagon, in memory of Mr. and Mrs. William 
Laverack. 

Tablets 

Marble tablet, in memory of the Right Reverend 
Cicero Stephens Hawks, D. D., first rector of the parish. 

Marble tablet, in memory of the Reverend Edward 
IngersoU, second rector of the parish. 

Marble tablet, in memory of Catherine F. IngersoU. 

Brass tablet, in memory of the Reverend Libertus 
Van Bokkelen, third rector of the parish. 

Brass tablet, in memory of Alexander Alexis Evsta- 
phieve. 

Brass tablet, in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Robert 
Hollister. 

Brass tablet, in memory of James Daniels Shepard. 



1 30 History of Trinity Church 

Marble tablet, in memory of Samuel L. Russell. 
Marble tablet, in memory of Jerry Radcliffe. 
Marble tablet, in memory of Henry Daw. 
Brass tablet, in memory of James P. Dobbins. 



Errata 

Page 125. Arthur Perry Nichols should be Asher Perry Nichols. 
Page 130. James P. Dobbins should be David P. Dobbins. 



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